Choosing You
by babigurl21793
Summary: Stiles has been training for his magic, Isaac and Stiles are close friends, Scott is not a very good alpha, Erica and Boyd escaped the alpha pack and ran away. Derek returns. Feelings are made known and things change. ***I OWN NOTHING***
1. Understanding Life Now

It's been two months since went down with the Darach and the alpha pack and everything has changed so drastically. The pack now consists of Scott, as the alpha, Aiden, Lydia, Isaac, Allison, Danny, Ethan, Jackson (surprisingly), Melissa, my dad and me. Danny is finally in the know about werewolves and all the shit that's been going on in Beacon Hills for the past two years. He found out when Jackson moved back and found out about the twins and the reasoning behind their initial wanting to date Lydia and Danny. Whereas everyone thought he would be after Aiden for dating Lydia, Jackson's major concern was that Ethan was going to hurt Danny. That led to a huge confrontation and fight with both of them completely wolfing out; that was a major shock to Danny.

Isaac and Aiden helped stop the fight while I calmed Danny down so that we could all sit down and talk. Surprisingly Danny took the whole werewolf thing better to be expected and he practically swooned when he learned that Ethan was willing to not only go against his brother but the rest of the alpha pack because he loved Danny so much. Granted he was upset at the way their relationship began but he was equally pissed at Jackson for not telling him what was going on from the beginning. After some much deserved apologies and talking between Jackson and Ethan about Danny's well-being they came to an understanding.

Jackson moving back from London was an interesting development in itself. In the beginning I was worried that he was going to go back to being the douchebag he was before he moved but it seems that his time spent overseas has changed him for the best. Besides sticking up for Danny he also told Aiden that if he ever hurt Lydia he'd kill him, alpha or not. He's even been nice to me and Isaac; we've shockingly become like the three musketeers of the pack. Moving on to the rest of the pack; Aiden and Lydia are still going strong, and I'm happy for them. As obsessed as I was with Lydia I'm pretty much over it. Don't get me wrong, I love Lydia like a sister but the whole unrequited love thing is getting old.

Allison and Isaac are going pretty strong too. Those two being together seems to bring out the best of them and it's a nice change of pace. Allison seems more accepting of the pack and the treaty between the Argents and the pack has gotten stronger; Chris even seems to like Isaac, well more so than he did Scott. Scott seems to be ok with their relationship but sometimes he acts kind of coldly to Isaac; I'm not sure how much of it is consciously though. All the stress from dealing with the stuff with Scott has brought his nightmares about his dad back in full force. At first he tried dealing with it on his own but I noticed how distant he'd become so I asked him about it. Ever since then whenever he has one he always comes to my house and stays with me. Strangely enough it's brought us closer as friends. It got to the point where he was at my house more than Scott's and dad finally just talked him into moving into our guest bedroom. Isaac was a little weary at first, thinking that my dad was just offering to him out of pity. Eventually I made him understand that my dad and I just wants him to be somewhere he feels safe and he agreed; the only thing left to do was tell Melissa and the pack. Luckily enough for us Melissa was very understanding when Isaac explained how I was helping him with his nightmares as was the rest of the pack. This however led most of the pack to start coming to me when they had problems or just to talk. I didn't and still don't mind, it was just a little weird getting used to.

This is how Jackson, Isaac and I became closer; we all bonded through our nightmares. Jackson, as I found out, sometimes had nightmares about being the kanima. He knows he wasn't responsible for everything that happened but it's still something that haunts him. My nightmares started after the sacrifice from dealing the Darach. The darkness is affecting all of us differently but I seem to be taking it the worse. Deaton says that it's because of my spark and that developing my skills would be a good way to get a handle on things. As much as I don't trust Deaton I agreed to train with him under the condition that the training stays between us. Scott already knows that I have a spark but I'm not ready for everyone to know about the whole magic thing; especially not my dad.

Scott is the alpha now although he's not any better at it than Derek was; in fact he may be worse. At least with Derek he would somewhat listen to other people's opinions when it came to pack business (well there closer to the end he did) but Scott just makes up his mind and that's it. He thinks just because he's a "true alpha" that excuses him of being an ass about things; that and he trusts Deaton entirely too much. I mean honestly, how can just completely trust someone that you don't really know. Scott's idiocy is another thing that Isaac, Jackson and I agree on. Everyone else seems to just follow him because of the true alpha title and don't think to question anything he does or says and honestly the powers gone to his head. The three of us are kind of the outcasts of the pack because of this. Well that and the fact that we talk to Peter. Despite what he's done in the past it seems coming back to life has broken the insanity he was suffering from resulting from the fire. He has apologized to everyone including Lydia and everyone accepted but they still seem a little weary of him so, he mainly hangs out with us.

Another thing that the four of us have in common is Derek. The four of us are the only ones in the pack that were close to Derek. Peter, of course, by blood, Isaac and Jackson because he was their alpha and me because of our strange relationship. I don't think it's a secret to anyone, including Derek that I've had a crush on him but it was also the way we always seemed to be there for one another when we were in danger. Whether it was me almost cutting off his arm from the bullet laced with wolfsbane or him believing me when Jennifer had my dad. Ever since meeting Derek when the whole "werewolves are real" thing started, he has always been someone that I can count on to get me out of trouble and to protect me.

After Derek and Cora left after everything I was sure that we would never see Derek again; I was completely wrong.


	2. Welcome home alpha?

It was a Friday afternoon in the beginning of summer break when Jackson, Isaac and I were leaving school and heading to Scott's house for our weekly pack meeting. It was going to be the last pack meeting for a while due to everyone's summer plans. The twins, Lydia and Danny were taking a couples trip to France, but I think that trip is just an excuse for Lydia and Danny to go shopping. Deaton has arranged some kind of spiritual awakening trip for Scott that involves backpacking through the Alps for two months; thank God he didn't suggest anything like that for me. The only ones in the pack that are going to be remaining in Beacon Hills are Peter, Jackson, Isaac and me. However, most of my summer will be spent continuing my training with Deaton to develop my spark.

Even though at the moment there was no danger, we all still met up to check in with each other. Normally we're the last to arrive but this time we got there before Peter so we ended up having to wait for a while. We were all in the living room talking amongst ourselves, all of us split into our separate groups; Lydia, Danny, the twins and Scott on one side of the room and us on the other when Peter finally arrived. "Sorry I was late. I had some personal matters to look into." As he said this he looked over and locked eyes with me. I knew this his way of saying that we needed to talk after the meeting. I nodded towards him before looking at Jackson and Isaac making sure they saw to; they nodded their acknowledgement. Scott was looking back and forth between the four of us but I gave him a look to let him know not to ask. Even if we weren't as close as we used to be he still knows to leave certain things alone.

The pack meeting lasted about 20 minutes consisting mostly of checking to see if anyone has seen or heard that could cause problems or be considered a threat. Luckily enough there seemed to be no danger in the immediate future. Throughout the whole meeting Peter kept looking at me and he couldn't sit still. This is definitely not like Peter, whatever it is that he needs to tell us must be very important; honestly his behavior is a little unsettling. Typically pack meetings are followed by either a movie night or going to the theater but we opted not to tonight so that we could talk to Peter so we left. When we reached to car Jackson started to ask Peter about whatever it was that he saw but I stopped him. Whatever it was that happened he obviously didn't want anyone to know but us so, we drove back to my house.

Most of the conversations that I've been having in my room in the past few months have been personal and private so the pack knows not to come by unless they've called first so we all bounded up the stairs and headed there. Immediately the wolves let out a relaxed sigh upon entering my room; they always do this when they get here and I don't know why. I've asked them multiple times about it but they can't seem to explain it; Peter just says that my room has a comforting pack smell, whatever that means.

After everyone is situated and comfortable I ask Peter what was going on. "I was out by the house and I caught a familiar scent." He stopped and looked up us before he continued. "It's Derek." At first we were all too shocked to speak. Derek's back in Beacon Hills? Why didn't he tell anyone? Isaac was apparently on the same track as I was because he asked just that. "The scent is still fresh. My guess is that he got here late last night and is just settling in. I don't know much of anything else. I didn't go up to the house to see if I saw him." Peter finished with a sigh.

"Why not?" Jackson asked confused, but to be honest I was confused. "Derek wasn't here when I apologized about everything, he doesn't know how I've changed. I know he's still angry Laura, which he has every right to be. I doubt I'm the first person he wants to see now that he's back." And ok he had a very good point there but someone needed to go out and see him and I guess that would be me. I stood up and pulled on my favorite red hoodie and grabbed my keys. "Where are you going little red?" Peter asked. Will he ever let that nickname go? Of course wearing this red hoodie definitely doesn't help.

"I'm going to see Derek. I'm the most neutral party here because we're not related and I wasn't his beta. Hopefully if everything goes ok and he feels up to it I'm going to bring him back here so we all can talk." Everyone seemed to agree that this was a good plan. As I was leaving Isaac stopped me. "What about Scott? Are you going to tell him?" Damn it. He had a point, Scott was the alpha now and he needed to be told about new werewolves in the area. But Derek isn't really a new werewolf; I mean Beacon Hills is his home. So, I think that warrants him some time to adjust to being back before shoved into pack business, right? "Not yet. I'm going to wait until Derek is ready for everyone to know." With that I went down to my jeep and made the journey out to the remains of the Hale house.

It was starting to get dark by the time I got to the house. Getting out of the jeep I find myself feeling the same as I always have being out here; it's this feeling of immense sadness that overwhelms me and gives me the chills. I make my way up the steps of the house to the front door opening it slowly. "Derek, are you here?" I yell out. Pocketing my keys I fully step into the house looking around for any signs of Derek. The longer I'm in the house the more creeped out I get. Walking further into the house I continue calling for Derek but to no avail. Where could he be?

Once I get towards the middle of the house I come across a large room and decide to check in there. As soon as I get about four feet into the room the door slams shut behind. And great I'm going to be killed in the most cliché way possible; in an abandoned house in the middle of the woods. Seriously, how is this my life? From one of the corners of the room I hear growling. I look over and there are two pairs of glowing yellows eye looking at me; and then there's a pair of red one too. An alpha. Oh course at this point my ADHD and lack of self-preservation kicks in. "Umm, hi?" I hear myself say before I can stop myself. The growling stops but the eyes are still glowing.

"My name is Stiles. Well that's not my real name but trust me you don't want to know my real name. My own father can't even pronounce it correctly and now that I think about I don't even know if I pronounce it correctly either. I should probably call my grandmother and ask her about, she more than likely know and…" "Oh my God! Shut up Stiles!" someone says. And hey that voice sounds familiar. One of the werewolves with yellow eyes steps out of the shadows smiling. "Oh my God! Erica!" I practically scream before rushing over to hug her. We never really got along all that great in the past but the last time I saw her and Boyd, Chris Argent had let us out of the basement after Gerard had tortured us. We got word that they ran into the alpha pack so we just assumed they were dead. Thank God we were wrong.

To my surprise she laughed and hugged me back then Boyd came out of the shadows smiling. I immediately went to hug him as well. It's so good to see them and know that they're alive. "Where have you guys been?" I asked. "You know. Around." Boyd still isn't big on words I see. "Well, I'm just glad you guys are ok." I said still unable to stop smiling. Then I remembered the red eyes in the corner; I looked over and the eyes were still fixed on me. "Umm, hi?" I waved towards the eyes. "Stiles." Red eyes said. I froze; that voice could only belong to one person. "D-d-d-d-derek?" I asked tentatively. He slowly walked out of the corner letting his eyes dim back to that beautiful bluish green I love so much. And….wait what?

Before I knew what I was doing I found myself running across the room and throwing myself at him hugging him as tight as I could. At first he went completely stiff but he soon relaxed and hugged my back just as tight.

We held each other for a while before he let me go and he had the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face. "I missed you." I found myself saying and ok where did that come from. I mean it's true, but I never thought I would ever tell Derek that. And what really surprised me was what he said. "I missed you too Stiles." And yep that would be me swooning, majorly swooning. I hear Erica clear her throat behind me and then I realized that Derek and I have just been staring at each other. I blush and quickly look down and Derek chuckles. "How'd you know I was here?" he asked. I cleared my throat before speaking. "Peter picked up your scent when he was out running earlier. He told us after the pack meeting today. So, I volunteered to come find you." Derek growled when I mentioned Peter telling us that he was here. "So, Scott knows that I'm back?" he asked quietly still kind of growling. I definitely made the right choice of not telling Scott yet. "Umm, no. He didn't tell Scott, just me, Isaac and Jackson. He moved back a few months ago. The four of us kind of have our own pack within the pack. They're back at my house waiting for us. I told them that I would see if you would come talk to us."

"Why didn't Peter come see him?" Erica asked. I turned to look at her then back at Derek. "He was scared." I said and Derek raised an eyebrow. I sighed. "Peter's changed a lot in the past couple of months. He's apologized for everything that happened and he's really trying to be better. He knows you're still angry about Laura so he didn't think that he'd be the first person you saw when you got back." Derek looked at me for a minute before nodding accepting what I was saying as the truth. "Ok. Let's go talk with them. I'm sure that they have questions and I know you do. Is your dad ok with all of us there?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah, he's been pretty accepting of everything since he found out about werewolves." We headed out to the jeep, piling in started back to my house. This is going to be a long night.


	3. Always Pack

During the drive back to my house I sent a text to Jackson letting him know that I was bringing Derek back to the house and for everyone to stay inside until we got there. I didn't want to overwhelm Derek by having the three of them running out of the house towards him. I also didn't tell them about Erica and Boyd because I wanted that to be a surprise for Isaac. I know that them leaving was the hardest for him; so I'm hoping that this will be good for him.

We pulled up to the house and headed inside to see everyone. Thankfully my dad wasn't home yet; he wouldn't have a problem with them being there but we still have to figure out how to explain how and why Erica and Boyd are back. As soon as the front door closes Isaac comes barreling down the stairs; I'm guessing he must have smelled them. When he got to the bottom he stopped and gave the biggest smile I've seen on him in a long time. Erica screamed his name and ran towards him sweeping him up into a hug; Boyd soon went over to join in on the hug. I stood there watching the three of them embracing each other I couldn't help but tear up a little. I was so glad that Isaac had his family back. I felt Derek reach over and grab me by my shoulders and give me a small squeeze. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Thanks for looking out for him." I was so shocked that Derek was thanking me I couldn't speak so, I just looked at him and nodded.

By this time Peter and Jackson made their way down the stairs and were saying their hellos and even received hugs from Erica and Boyd. Isaac made his way over to Derek but was standing a few feet away from him without looking him in the eyes; Jackson soon joined him. I guessed that they could sense that Derek was an alpha again and they were submitting to him. Derek looked them over before embracing them and nuzzling and nipping at their throats letting them know that they were pack. After they were fully scented they stepped back and let Peter walk towards Derek. They locked eyes for a while before Peter offered Derek his hand to shake. Derek looked at for a minute before pushing it away and pulling Peter into a hug scenting him as well. It was like everyone in the room let out a breath of relief and just like that Derek had his pack back.

Scenting complete we all sat down in the living room and let Derek, Erica and Boyd tell where they had been. Erica started. After what happened with the Argents we ran towards the woods to get away. We were scared and we didn't understand what pack meant then so we ran." She looked towards Isaac before continuing. "And we're so sorry. We joined up with a pack in Arizona and it was good for a while but we missed you guys. We ran into Derek and Cora and decided to tag along with them for a while and we've been with Derek ever since." Boyd spoke up next. "We traveled for a while then Derek became an alpha again and decided to come back and he let us join his pack and come back with him. We're glad to be home." He finished with a small smile. "I'm glad you guys are back." I said. "After what the Argents did to you guys, to us, I didn't think you'd ever come back." This statement was met with four different growls aimed at me. I couldn't figure out why they were upset until I realized what I said. No one else besides Erica and Boyd knew that Gerard had kidnapped me too. Oh boy.

"What do you mean what Gerard did to you? What happened Stiles?" Derek growled, eyes flashing red. "Umm…it's not really important. I mean it was so long ago. Let's just forget I said anything. Ok?" I really didn't want to talk about it and I knew that if I did Derek and Jackson would feel bad about what happened and that's the last thing I wanted but unfortunately I wasn't going to get off that easily. "Stiles, please tell us what happened." Isaac said quietly and giving me the puppy eyes he knows I can't say no to. With a sigh I started talking; I explained how I was taken off the field and tortured in the Argents basement with Erica and Boyd and how I didn't mention anything because I didn't want anyone to worry. The entire time I was talking about what happened I was looking at the floor but when I finished I looked up towards everyone. Derek, Peter and Jackson looked livid that that happened to me and Isaac looked on the verge of tears. "See? This is why I didn't bring it up. We had bigger things to deal with like helping Jackson. So what I got a few bruises? They healed and I'm fine so can we please just talk about something else?" No one said anything but Derek spoke up. "Ok, I'll leave this alone. For now. But we're having a conversation later on." He said the last part in his alpha voice and gave me a look that let me know no matter of arguing would get me out of that conversation so I just nodded my head.

"So, I guess it's my turn then." Derek said with a sigh. "After everything that happened and finding Cora, we needed to leave for a while; we had to figure some things out and if we even wanted to come back. We were in Seattle when we were attacked by a rogue alpha; we were lucky that the full moon had already past and we were able to get the upper hand. Cora felt guilty that I lost my alpha abilities when I saved her so she let me kill him. After that we meet up with a pack there and stayed for a few weeks; their alpha was kindly enough to give some tips and lessons in being a better alpha. After we left there we just started traveling, we met up with Erica and Boyd and they joined us. Cora knew that I missed being here and they Erica and Boyd wanted to come home as well but she didn't want to come back. So, she decided to go back to the pack she was with after the fire and we came home."

We all sat in silence for a minute absorbing everything that had been said in the past hour. Derek looked around and sniffed the air. "It doesn't smell like too much in here." He said, and oh boy I knew this was coming. "Umm, Scott and I haven't really been hanging out that much here lately. He's been busy with the whole true alpha thing and I've been dealing with the spark training with Deaton. It's pretty much just us four mainly." I replied gesturing to the four of us. "So who's all supposed to be in the pack?" Derek asked, looking surprisingly concerned and a little annoyed. "Umm, well it's supposed to be me, Isaac, Peter, Lydia, Aiden, Ethan, Danny, Jackson and Scott. But like I said we've pretty much just been on our own. I mean sure we get together for meetings but they….I don't know." And to honest I didn't know. For months now we've been having "pack meetings" but they've felt like anything but that. Derek didn't say anything for a minute, his ever expressive eyebrows seemed as though he was in deep thought. Finally he spoke. "Maybe they don't seem like pack meetings, because you've been meeting with the wrong alpha."


	4. Explanations and Realizations

And ok what?  
>"What? What do you mean the wrong alpha?" I asked confused.<p>

Derek sighed before he spoke.  
>"Let me guess, in the beginning after Cora and I left, going to pack meetings with Scott were fine, a little strange but fine nonetheless. Then a few weeks later, it seemed like none of you belonged there. Like somehow going to pack meetings with Scott as your alpha was wrong. So, you all formed a pack inside of his, and slowly but surely you started pulling away from them; only attending meetings when it was absolutely necessary otherwise you four just gathered together. You all got closer, not only as friends but as pack as well. And for the past few months while I was gone you all felt like you were waiting for something to come; something to make you feel safe again; something to complete you. You all felt that when you realized that I was back in town. Right?"<p>

And, wow. Not only was that the most I'd ever heard Derek speak, but it perfectly described how I felt and from looking at Peter, Jackson and Isaac's expressions they felt it too.

"What does it mean?" Jackson asked.

"It means that you four belong to Hale pack. Always have and always will. You fought against and ignored Scott's role as alpha because he was never meant to be your alpha. I was."  
>"When I left as a beta, your wolves felt lost and to keep from going into omega status they latched onto the closest alpha that there was, but when I gained my alpha status back your wolves knew it even if you didn't. That only happens when a werewolf has a deep connection to their alpha. For Jackson and Isaac it was because I bit them, same as with Erica and Boyd. After I found them they submitted immediately because their wolves recognized me as their alpha; with Peter I'm assuming it's because we are the last surviving members of our original pack. Even though I wasn't supposed to an alpha, mom was and I'm closest link to since you were technically in a coma for six years."<p>

Peter nodded. "Ok, that makes since for us werewolves, but what about Stiles. For the most part he's human, besides his spark. But he hadn't tapped into it before you left so, that can't be it for him."

"Yeah, Peter has a good point." I said. "I'm just human so, how do I fit into all of this. I mean I know that humans can be a part of a pack, but it would make more sense if I was a part of Scott's pack rather than yours, right?" I was honestly confused. I've known Scott longer than Derek, not to mention the amount of threatening and physical abuse Derek inflicted upon me; and yet it feels right to be a part of his pack.

Derek walked over to where I was sitting and stooped down until he was looking me in my eyes before he answered. "Stiles, in the past couple of years how many times did Scott abandon you for Allison and we ended up saving each other. Whether it was when I was shot by the wolfsbane bullet or when you held me up for two hours in the pool at the school. That's what pack does; they protect each other no matter what. Scott hasn't been very helpful and in most cases it was his fault that we were in the situations that we were in, but at the end of it all we learned to depend on each other for support. Even when you were scared of me, you still cared whether or not I died. You out of everyone here besides Peter have been a part of Hale pack for a long time."

"That's why I couldn't just bite you." Peter said suddenly, and ok what?

I guess he saw everyone's confused expression and explained. "When I was alpha I took Stiles to help me find Scott and after he helped me I was going to turn him, but I couldn't. I found myself asking him if he wanted the bite rather than just biting him like I did with Scott and Lydia. Something was stopping me from just giving him the bite. It was because my wolf already saw him as pack. Members of the Hale pack have never forced the bite on our human members. It was always their choice."

"So, I've always been a part of Hale pack. Which is why I was always worried about you, Peter, Isaac, Erica and Boyd, and why I've been taking care of them, referring to Peter, Jackson, and Isaac, since you've been gone." I stated.

"Yeah, it seems as though you've unconsciously taken on the role as my second in command in my absence by taking care of my betas. Thank you for that by the way. I was worried about Isaac and Peter." Derek told me quietly while looking over to his betas.

"Hey! What about me?" Jackson asked as he pouted, jokingly. We all laughed glad to be off that serious subject for a minute and glad to just enjoy all of being together again. It felt good; really good. It felt like for the first time in months that we were going to be ok.

"So, what's next Derek?" Boyd asked. And that was a very valid question. Where do we go from here?

"I don't know. We need to find somewhere to hold pack meetings for one. And I think it's time for Peter and I to start making plans to rebuild the house. Now that we have a pack, we need a pack house for all of us." Peter looked excited at the prospect of rebuilding the house.

That's when I remembered something that Derek, Erica and Boyd needed to know. "We can have the meetings at my house for now. My dad knows about werewolves now so, he wants to be as involved as he can in this part of my life."

Derek, Erica, and Boyd looked shocked at this news and Isaac looked a little embarrassed.

"After you left Derek, Isaac kind of had a little bit of separation anxiety and Scott was no help so, he started staying with me; still does as a matter of fact. The first full-moon was hard for and he ended up shifting in front of my dad. It freaked my dad out but after we sat him down and explained everything he understood, at least I think he understood. Anyways he knows. Also, he'll need to take Erica and Boyd's statements about why they "ran away from home". Isaac still feels kind of bad about it but that's mostly because of how Scott reacted."

"How did Scott react?" Erica asked looking kind of mad. Erica always seemed to feel like Isaac was a little brother to her.

"He started yelling at him telling him that he needed to be more careful. I stopped it before it went too far and Isaac moved into our guest room that night. I didn't want him to stay there with Scott when he was feeling uncomfortable being there. Actually our guest room is more like a pack room now. Jackson and Peter come and stay there quite often. We really don't like being a part for long periods of time."

Derek seemed pleased with my last statement. "That further proves my point that you all consider yourselves pack separate from Scott and the others. When will your dad get home?" He asked.

"Probably not for a few hours. Speaking of which I need to start dinner." Looking over to Isaac I asked if he still wanted to help me and he agreed. "You guys can come in the kitchen and keep us company if you want otherwise just get comfortable. If you want some sweats or something to change into there's some upstairs in the guest room that should fit you guys. You guys may have been gone for a while but you're not guests here. Get as comfortable as you like." I said with a smile before Isaac and I headed off towards the kitchen.

Rather than making my dad's usual low calorie meal I decided to give a cheat night mainly because he was about to get a lot of information tonight from Derek, Erica, and Boyd and then there's the fact that I'm feeding six werewolves and I highly doubt they want a vegetarian meal. I got Isaac started peeling potatoes because it goes a lot faster when he uses his claws than when I do it with a knife, that and it keeps from almost cutting my hands. Something tells me that this dinner is going to be very interesting.


	5. Dinner with the Sheriff

Cooking dinner for everyone was strange; not uncomfortably strange though. I had a sense of serenity and completeness with everyone being under one roof. In the past, when it was just me, Peter, Jackson, and Isaac together, there was always a feeling of rightfulness, but now it's more intense. It's like colors seem brighter, sounds are more crisps, and for the first time in months, I feel like I can breathe a little easier. I guess this is what Derek meant when he said that he has always and will always be our alpha.

It's easy to see that everyone is glad that Derek is back for good though. For Peter, it's got more to do with the fact that he's the only living family he has left since the fire and Laura, but even I can see that it's more than that. Once Isaac and I started making dinner, Peter asked to speak to Derek in private; so, they headed out back towards the woods so the betas wouldn't hear them. Not that they were paying much attention anyway; they were too busy catching up with one another. I felt bad that Isaac was missing out on it so, I sent him in the living room to catch up as well.

While no one said anything about why Peter wanted to speak to Derek alone, we all knew why. Peter wanted to apologize to Derek about Laura. I know that he doesn't expect Derek to understand or forgive him for what happened, but at the same time he needs to try and make amends with him just as he did with everyone else. Glancing towards the kitchen window overlooking the backyard I catch a glimpse of them heading back to the house and they both have an arm around the other. Looks like Derek has done some soul searching while he was gone just like Peter has.

With Jackson and Isaac, they're glad that Derek is back for the same reason; whether or not they realize it I do and I know Derek does as well. Neither Jackson nor Isaac had very good father figures growing up. Isaac's father beat and tormented him just because he felt like he could. And Jackson's father expected him to be the best at everything he did; grades in school, or playing lacrosse it didn't matter Jackson had to be the best. After he came back from London and we became closer as friends he explained that that was why he always bullied me. School and grades always came so easy for me, when I tried, but, it was always a struggle for him. It came as a shock to me when he admitted that he was jealous of me because of that and because of the fact that my father supported me in whatever I did, no matter what it was.

For Jackson and Isaac, and I suspect Erica and Boyd as well, Derek is more than just their alpha; he's like a father figure to them. You can tell this by the way they interact with him. For Jackson, it's constant talking about lacrosse; his passion. How many goals he scored last game; how as soon as he cam back to Beacon Hills he took team captain away from Scott; and how many colleges are looking at him for scholarships. And with Isaac, he was excited about how well he was doing in school. He claims that it's because I tutor him, but it's mainly because he's smart and not under the pressure his father put on him to do well. He knows that if he makes a mistake now it's not going to result in him being beaten or locked in a freezer. Derek seemed extremely pleased with how happy the both of them were. He even asked Jackson when his next game was a said that he'd show up. I don't think that I've ever seen Jackson that happy before.

I finally finished dinner as soon as I heard my dad's cruiser pull up in the drive way. I'm extremely nervous about how this is going to go. For one, we have to explain where Erica and Boyd have been, the whole Hale pack business and then where everyone will be staying while plans are being made for the Hale house to be rebuilt. Erica and Boyd will have to go home to their families after the discussion with my dad, but what about Derek?

"Stiles? Could you come in here please?" my dad calls from the living room. I had been so engrossed in my own thoughts that i didn't even hear him come into the house. I walked into the living room to see the pack seated in various places around the living room and my dad standing in the doorway with a bewildered look on his face. Turning to me he asked, "So, I'm guessing that the explanation as to why i have two runaways and a former alpha werewolf in my house is going to be a whiskey conversation, right?" I chuckled before guiding him into the dining room. "Whiskey and a full calorie meal for dinner dad." He groaned before taking out his bottle of whiskey and glass before taking his seat at the head of the table.

Derek and the rest of the pack helped me bring out the food and plates before taking their seats as well. Derek sat at the other end of the table across from my dad and everyone else filed in a various other seats, leaving the seat to Derek's right open for me. I guess it had something to do with Derek saying that I was his second in command, but whatever. After everyone had been filled their plates, they waited for my dad to take the first bite. In the beginning, I didn't understand why they did this so, one day I asked Peter about and he explained that by them having dinner at my house my dad was viewed as the alpha of sorts. He told me that it was considered disrespectful for a beta to eat before their respective alpha. My dad knowing this went ahead and took a bite of his food, and yet they still waited. Then it dawned on me, they were waiting for Derek to eat some before them as well, but even then they still waited. Derek nudged me under the table and quietly told me to eat so, I did. It was only after my dad, Derek and I had our first bites that everyone else started eating. Ok, that's not weird at all, but I guess once again it has to do with me being Derek's second; I think.

We were half-way through dinner when my dad finally spoke up and asked what was going on, which led to a two hour conversation about where Derek, Erica, and Boyd had been and what they had gone through. By the end of the conversation my dad looked upset and a little confused, but for the most part he took everything pretty well.

"So, Derek now that you're back and an alpha again how does my son and his friends fit into all of this?" my dad asked.

I took this as my time to speak up. "Dad, do you remember when we Peter, Jackson, Isaac, and I started spending more time together as a group and less time with Scott and his pack?" At my father's nod I continued. "It seems that because Derek bit Jackson, Isaac, Erica and Boyd, their wolves will always view Derek as their alpha, same thing with Peter only that's more because of the fact that they're family. With me, that's a little more difficult." At this my father raised an eyebrow. What is it with everyone and their over-expressive eyebrows. Derek took this as a chance to explain.

"Sheriff Stilinski." He started before my dad cut him off. "Derek, I told you to call me John."

Derek smiled a little and started again. "John, I'm not sure how much detail Stiles and the rest of my pack gave you about the past few years, but it's safe to say that Stiles and I have been forced into some situations where our survival was in the others hands. If it wasn't for Stiles then I wouldn't be here and vice versa. I guess you can say that bonding through life and death situations made us pack. Not only that, but he's been taking care of my betas while I've been gone; that only makes him my equal of sorts in the pack. The betas trust and truly care for Stiles and they will protect him no matter what."

Derek stopped to gather his thoughts before he continued. "From what I understand from what Stiles and the others have told me is that in the beginning things were fine being in a pack with Scott as their alpha. But somewhere along the line they became restless and uncomfortable there. Given the time period that they said this started happening was right around the time that I became an alpha again. Even though consciously they didn't know that I was, their wolves recognized the shift in power and they felt the need to leave Scott's pack. It's the same with Stiles only for him it was more of his subconscious, since he isn't a werewolf. He noticed the changes in the betas and recognized their need for reassurance which led to them drifting away from Scott's pack."

"That and the fact that I don't trust Scott at all. I mean what kind of guy abandons his supposed best friend for a girl? Especially a girl whose family hunts werewolves for a living!" Jackson practically yelled.

I kicked him under the table to tell him to shut up; my dad knew that there was more to that story, but thankfully he let it go.

"Ok, so now you're back and you plan to rebuild your house for your pack?" my dad asked; Derek nodded.

"Good, I suspect that you'll be camping out in the guest room with Jackson, Isaac, and Peter?" He asked shocking us all, but Derek just nodded his head again.

"Ok, that's fine with me. Maybe you can help me keep them in line." my dad said jokingly. He looked over to Erica and Boyd. "Do you guys have a story to tell your parents about where you've been for two months?"

Erica nodded. "We ran off to be together, but decided to come home."

My dad nodded that this was an acceptable story to him. "Alright, I know you guys want to stay together for tonight so, tomorrow I'll take you down to the station and we'll call your parents then. For now, everyone can stay here." My dad's phone went off letting him know he had a text.

"Looks like I'm picking up the late shift. Thanks for dinner Stiles, and I'll see the rest of you tomorrow morning." And with that he left the house.

After my dad left everyone relaxed knowing that he not only understood what was going on but accepted it for what it is.

"So," I started to ask Derek. "What now?"

"Now, we relax and catch up. Tomorrow Erica and Boyd will go home and the rest of us will start working on getting ready to rebuild the house. Then at some point we're all going to have to have a meeting with the McCall pack and let Scott know that you all are my pack and not his." He stated definitely.

Oh God. How am I going to explain this to Scott?


	6. Accusations & Reconstruction

It's been two weeks since Derek, Erica, and Boyd returned from parts unknown and things have been going pretty well. Erica and Boyd's families are glad that they are back home; although Erica's parents are a little baffled that the symptoms of her epilepsy have gone away, but apparently, it is somewhat common for people to grow out of having seizures as they age. It's not something that they expected, considering how serious her illness was, but they're happy nonetheless.

Derek and Peter haven't wasted anytime on rebuilding the Hale house. Come to find out, Derek went to NYU, where he studied architecture, when he and Laura lived in New York; and while he never had the opportunity to finish his degree he's very talented in his designs. It took him around three days to completely draw out what he wanted the house to look like, and from his drawings, it's going to be beautiful.

It's a three story house complete with a huge fully stocked kitchen, per my request of course, a family/media room for pack meetings, and maybe if we can talk Derek into it the occasional movie night, and a dining room. The house includes a bedroom on the second floor for each of the betas, and Derek and I both have full suites on the third floor. Derek even made sure that there was an extra bedroom for my dad for when he comes over for pack meetings and decides not to go home. Peter and my dad have both been busy with pack business as well.

Peter has been contacting various companies for the demolishing and the reconstruction of the house. My dad, however, has been dealing with the legal matter of things. First with making sure that Erica and Boyd went home to their families and were settled in ok. Then there was the issue with Isaac's legal guardianship. Initially, Isaac was to be placed under Melissa's care, but then after the whole issue between him and Scott, it was decided that that wasn't the best place for him. My dad thought about possibly taking custody of him, but since Derek has returned he has since agreed to take custody of Isaac, much to Isaac's delight.

That's one thing about Derek that hasn't changed; the way he cares for Isaac. I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that Isaac was Derek's first-bitten wolf or the fact of how his father treated him when he was human. Derek in no way shape or form treats his betas badly, but he has always seemed to have more patience with Isaac than anyone else. Of course the courts and Isaac's social worker were hesitant to place Isaac with Derek considering the fact that he had been arrested for murder twice, but with the blessing and insistence of the local sheriff, how could they not see that it was a perfect fit.

With everything going on with the pack, I hadn't been in to see Deaton in a while so, I decided to drop in and see him about continuing my training. After the recent developments with the alpha pack I made the decision to start working with Deaton to try and develop my abilities as a spark and to see how strong I could potentially be. Deaton has had me reading ancient books regarding sparks and their dealings with other supernatural beings. Apparently, an alpha having a spark in their pack increases their alpha power substantially. After reading about this I began to have doubts about Deaton's intentions for me, but I kept them to myself. I don't have to trust him to learn from him.

I knew that Deaton would have issues with me leaving Scott's pack for Derek's, but I wasn't expecting the full blow out I got when I went there. Apparently, he could sense the change in my alliance in packs by my aura or something, as always he was vague in his explanations.

"You're different. What's changed?" Deaton asked me as soon as we were in his office.

Not wanting to discuss this with him, I tried to feign innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about, Deaton. I thought we were going to train today?" I asked hoping that he'd drop it and move on, but alas, no such luck.

"No, there's something different about you, Stiles. Scott isn't your alpha anymore. I can tell, but I don't understand is how a Hale is your alpha."

"Because Derek is back and he's an alpha again. He's better than he was before and I feel like that I belong with his pack."

"How could you do this Stiles? What about Scott?" Deaton practically yells at me.

At this point I'm pissed at the tone of voice he was using. He was talking to me like I was a child that needed to be chastised for doing something wrong.

"So, what? Scott's not my alpha anymore, big deal! You're talking like I've done something wrong. How is it wrong for me to side with the one person who has always been there to save me when I'd been abandoned by my so called best friend? And now, just because he's a "true alpha", I'm supposed to just put all the pain I've endured and the lies I've told for him?"

I stop and take a few deep breaths before I completely lose it at Deaton. He takes this chance to continue his tirade.

"How can you turn your back on Scott now? I know that he hasn't been there in the past, but he's trying now and he's going to need you Stiles."

I laugh a bitter and cold laugh.

"Oh yeah, what about what I need? Huh, Deaton? Everyone is always worried about Scott and what he needs, what about me? Derek may not be perfect, but at least he cares enough to make sure that I have what I need. He makes sure that I'm taken care of just like he does with the rest of his pack. He doesn't wait for you to help him make decisions in some misconstrued attempt to prove he knows what he's doing instead of just admitting that he's just as lost as Derek was in the beginning."

I could almost physically feel my blood boiling I was so angry.

"You dare sit there and accuse me of abandoning Scott, but isn't that what you did to the Hales? You let Laura and Derek leave after the fire with absolutely no support system. Not only that, but you let Peter sit in a rehabilitation center for six years reliving the fire and stewing in anger and loss for his family. Not to mention the fact that you didn't bother to try and help Derek when he came back to Beacon Hills after Laura died. You only help us when it's beneficial to what you want or need. So, you know what? I'm done."

And with that I left Deaton's place. I knew that Jackson, Erica, Boyd, and Isaac would be at my house since the demolition on the house started today. I really didn't want to see them like this plus I needed to let Derek know about Deaton so, I headed to the Hale house.

When I got there Derek and Peter were talking to some construction workers about the demolition process. When they saw me and noticed how angry I was they cut the conversation short and headed over to me while the construction workers began the tedious task of tearing down the house. Peter came over first and was making sure I wasn't physically injured before nuzzling me and stating that he was going to check on the betas. Somehow, he knew that I needed to speak to Derek alone.

After Peter left, Derek and I walked deeper into the woods so that we could talk without being disturbed by the sounds of the demolition. Plus I don't think Derek wanted to be near to see his childhood home torn down no matter the reasoning behind it. When we reached a safe distance that we could hear each other without screaming he turned towards me.

"What happened?" he asked. I sighed and gave him the run down on my argument with Deaton about what pack I belonged to. He seemed proud that I defended my position in his pack and surprised at what I said about Deaton abandoning him, Laura, and Peter.

"Is that really how you feel about him?" He asked me.

I nodded before speaking. "Well, yeah. I mean if Deaton would've helped you and Laura instead letting you guys just leave who knows what could've happened. Maybe Peter wouldn't have did what he did, I don't know. All I know is that I don't trust Deaton. I haven't ever really trusted him, but today was the icing on the cake."

I sighed before rubbing my hands over my face. I was exhausted. Derek realized how stressed and tired I was and pulled me into a hug and just held me. He'd been doing this more and more since he got back. At first I thought it was just a pack thing, because he does it to the betas as well, but I noticed that he holds me and scents me longer than he does anyone else. I don't really know the reason why, but I know that it helps calm me down. I don't think it's a secret to anyone that I've had a crush on Derek for a while now, but I've been too scared to act on it; especially now that we're in a good place with the pack, the last thing I want to do is something to jeopardize that; considering how close of a family we've become over the past few months.

But here lately with the way and how often Derek holds me or scents me, I'm starting to wonder if maybe he has feelings for me like I do for him. I want so badly for that to be true; for Derek to want to be with me, but at the same time I don't know if he can. I don't know if Derek can allow himself to be placed in a vulnerable again because of his past relationships. I got my answer about how Derek felt about me when he pulled away from the hug. He looked down at me and stared at me for a few minutes before he bent down towards me and kissed me softly.

He pulled back slowly to gauge my reaction to his kiss. For a moment I was in a state of shock. I mean this is Derek Hale that just kissed me! As much as I wanted this I never expected this to happen. Given my track record, people that I have crushes on tend to not like me back. Well, the only person I've had a crush has been Lydia and she could care less about me. But I never expected Derek to actually care about me the way that I do about him.

Before he could pull away and say that he didn't mean to kiss me or say that regret it, I kissed him back. It started out innocent enough but it soon turned into a passionate battle of dominance that Derek easily won. When we finally pulled apart he rested his forehead on mine, staring back at me with blazing red alpha eyes; and wow I never noticed how attractive they were on him. He gave me a small innocent smile and uttered a word that completely threw me through a loop.

"Mate."


	7. Explanations & Agreements

I pulled back to fully look into Derek's eyes to try and comprehend what he just said. Mates; Derek's wolf claimed me as his mate. While I'm extremely happy and excited at the prospect of being Derek's mate, I can't help but to wonder how Derek's human side feels. I know that here lately we've gotten closer as friends, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he wants me to be his mate.

I guess that I was quiet for too long and Derek was starting to get worried. He whined a little then the red of his eyes slowly faded away until all that was left was the beautiful bluish-green color that they always are. In his eyes I could see the doubt and panic he was feeling on the inside; I had to make sure that both Derek and his wolf wanted to be with me. So, I made a split second decision; I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down closer to me as I shifted up on the tips of my toes; I tentatively kissed him to see just how he would respond to me. At first he was hesitant to reciprocate the kiss, but after a few seconds he kissed back. After a few minutes of kissing we pulled apart breathing heavily, resting our foreheads against each other. Derek gave me a smile that I have been seeing more and more lately; a smile I now realize is for me and me alone. I make him smile like that.

I took a deep breath before pulling away from Derek to look at him fully.

"Did you mean it?" I asked quietly. He stared back at me with a confused look on his face. It occurred to me that he may not know what his wolf said.

"You're wolf said that it wanted me for its mate. Is it just him or is it you too?" In that moment I hoped that Derek would say that it was the both of them and not just some weird wolf thing that he doesn't really want.

Derek looked a little embarrassed and the tips of his ears got adorably red. He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a shaded area where we could sit down. Once we were situated he pulled my hands into his lap and looked me in the eyes while he was speaking.

"Stiles, I don't want to think that it's just my wolf that wants you because I do as well. I've wanted to be with you for a while, but I never wanted to force this life onto you. With everything that's happened in the past few years, I didn't want you to feel like you were trapped in this type of lifestyle for good. I wanted that to be a choice made solely on your own; not based on wanting a relationship with me. But taking into consideration that over the past few months that I've been gone that you've been taking care of betas like they're yours. Protecting them, caring for them, providing them with a safe place to be together; all this just further proves that you are my mate."

And wow. I never knew that Derek felt that way about me much less that it was that serious. Before I could never understand why I felt so protective of Peter, Jackson, and Isaac. I would always get weird looks from everyone else in Scott's pack whenever someone did or said something to one of them and I was quick to defend them; Scott questioned me about a few times, but I couldn't explain it. All I knew was that I would do anything to make sure that they were taken care of and safe regardless of what anyone else felt and/or thought. But now listening to Derek, I understand why I felt that way. In being an alpha's mate, everything you do and/or feel is based off instinct, much like everything revolving around werewolves.

I told Derek about this and asked if my constant overprotectiveness of the betas had anything to do with me being his mate even though he hadn't come back yet.

Derek nodded. "A mate's instincts don't have anything to do with proximity of their mates, but the relationship between the two of them. You said before that the one thing that brought you, Peter, Jackson, and Isaac together was the fact that you all felt closer to me than you did Scott. Right?"

I nodded in agreement before he continued.

"Then that's all that mattered. Regardless of whether or not you realized it, by taking care of them when I was away, you stepped into the role of being my mate, even though you didn't know I was an alpha again. Subconsciously, you have accepted the role so, I guess the real question is, do you want to be with me? Not for my wolf or because of the instincts you have for the pack. But do you want to be with me for me Stiles? Because I don't just want you to be my mate Stiles, I want to be mine in every sense of the word."

By now I have tears streaming down my face. Derek wants me; not just as his mate, but he generally wants to be in a relationship with me. I smiled and pulled Derek close to me, giving him a deep kiss before I answered him.

"Nothing would make me happier."

In that moment I stopped worrying about Deaton's reaction or how I was going to tell Scott about all of this. Because in this moment I realized that as long as I had Derek, my dad, and the rest of the pack, nothing else matters. From now on my life and my happiness are what's important to me, not what everyone else thinks or has to say.

Over the next month or so things have been going fairly smoothly. Derek, Peter, and Jackson have been corresponding with various contractors and the rebuilding is way ahead of schedule. Erica, Isaac, Boyd, I have been picking things out to go in various rooms of the house. So far we've picked out furniture for the family/living room, dining room, and things for the various bedrooms and bathrooms as well. We've also had to make some adjusts in the blueprints for the house.

Since I'm no longer training with Deaton, Peter brought me some of the books he had hidden away that weren't ruined in the fire. Apparently, Talia, Derek's mother and Peter's sister, kept copies her family's books in a secret hidden location in town given the chance that anything happened to the house and they were unable to save them; and for that I'm incredibly grateful. Not only because of the knowledge that I have had the chance to receive, but also because it's s piece of Derek and Peter's past that they can now have to pass on to future generations.

When Peter first told us that there were books that belong to the Hale family initially I was thinking three, maybe four books at the most. What I wasn't expecting was two storage rooms full of books, some of which were hand written, that have been passed on from generation to generation of Hales; there were enough books there to the point that we had to have a library in the downstairs layout. From the time estimates given to us by the contractors, the house should be finished and move in ready by the end of this month; which is surprisingly right before Scott gets back.

Tonight is the night that Derek and I have decided to sit my dad down and explain the whole mating business to him. I don't know how well he's going to take this, but I hope that he takes it as well as the betas did; but I highly doubt that considering that they saw it coming from a mile away. I remember that day after the long talk Derek and I had in the woods behind the house when we went back to my house to tell the pack what their reactions were. Erica, Boyd, and Jackson just seemed amused and happy that we were finally together. Isaac was thrilled at having two "parents" in our pack. And Peter just rolled his eyes and said, "Finally.", before leaving to check on the progress of the demolition of the house. So, if my dad has a reaction anywhere close to that would be amazing. I know that my dad is going to have questions about just what being mated means; I mean I know I did. Thankfully, there was plenty of information in the books that Peter brought me.

According to the information that I found in Taila's books mates are rarity for werewolves. One book in particular states:

"Mates for werewolves are typically people that can help keep the balance in pack. Any werewolf can have a mate but mates to alpha wolves are seen as a second alpha. The second alpha, or Alpha Female, are the general caretakers of the pack. Where the alpha is supposed to be strong and leaders in battle; the "alpha female" is to be kind and protective figures for the pack. In a sense, alpha wolves are the strength physically and the alpha wolf's mates are the strength emotionally."

This is the passage that I picked out to assist in mine and Derek's explanation as what was going to be happening in the next few weeks; because not only am I Derek's mate, but I'm going to be moving into the pack house full-time when it's complete. I know that my dad won't be very excited at the prospect of his seventeen year old son being in a relationship with a twenty-three year old man and then moving into his house; especially considering the fact that the man in question is a werewolf. Don't get me wrong, my dad holds no prejudice against werewolves or Derek for that fact because of everything that has happened to me in the past three years. In fact, I think he mostly blames Scott for the injuries I've had since they were mostly caused in pursuit of helping and/or protecting him. I think it's going to be more along the lines of the fact that I'm underage and his only son. I hope and pray that he understands where I'm coming from.

Not only are Derek and I telling my dad about the whole mating thing tonight, tomorrow we are having a pack meeting with the Argents to discuss a possible treaty between them and the Hale pack. Chris has already formed a treaty with Scott, but that was mainly out of the insistence of Deaton. As per usual, Scott just agreed to whatever Deaton said that should be in the agreement, which mainly states that as long as the pack doesn't cause any problems then they wouldn't be bothered. It was soon after that that Chris decided to take Allison on a trip to clear her head from all the drama that went on with the sacrifices, the Darach, and the alpha pack. I know that Isaac has been missing Allison like crazy so, I know that he's glad that they're coming back.

I was very surprised at Derek's reaction to Allison and Isaac being in a relationship. Taking in consideration that Derek sees Isaac, and the rest of the betas for that matter, and Allison being an Argent, I thought that Derek would have an issue with them being together; but he doesn't. It seems that the time Derek and Cora spent away, Derek spent most of his time getting to know his sister again, but he also spent some time getting to know himself again; particularly after he became an alpha again. In the time he spent away, Derek came to the conclusion that no one was to blame for what happened to his family except Kate. He still very hesitant about working with the Argents, but he's not willing to allow his prejudices to affect Isaac's chance at possibly meeting his mate, and Isaac couldn't be more happy about; although when Erica did mention something about tearing Allison limb from limb if she hurt Isaac, I noticed Derek trying to hide a smirk.

My dad was scheduled to be off at about 6:30 that night so, the rest of the pack graciously left the house (read as Derek growled until they left) to give us some privacy to have the discussion with him. I was extremely nervous about having this talk and couldn't stop moving. I was sitting on the couch beside Derek, bouncing my leg up and down, when he suddenly put his hand on my leg to stop me. I looked up and gave him a small smile.

"Sorry." I whispered. "I'm just nervous about explaining all of this to him."

Derek chuckled slightly before leaning over and giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry about it. This is your dad; he'll understand." He squeezed my knee reassuringly just as we heard the front door open and my dad walk in.

I half expected Derek to move his hand off my knee and scoot away from me a little bit, but he didn't. If anything he scooted closer to me. My dad walked into the living room and saw how close we were sitting and Derek's hand on my knee. There was an abundance of scenarios going through my mind about what my dad would do. Everything from pulling his gun on Derek, to him screaming and yelling at us for being together; but I definitely wasn't expecting what his reaction was.

He stared at us for about two to three minutes before sighing.  
>"Ugh, finally. You know you two are about ass self-aware as a wooden door." He said as he walked into the kitchen and then returned with a beer, and sat down in his favorite chair.<p>

"HEY!" I said once he sat down. "I'll have you know I'm plenty self-aware, thank you very much."

My dad chuckled. "Oh really? Then tell me this Stiles. How is it that I realized that you two were a couple before either one of you did?"

And ok, what?  
>"What?" Derek and I said at the same time.<p>

"Please. The first three weeks Derek came back the two of you would make eye contact from across the room and grin like idiots. I've got to say, I thought you two would come to me with this sooner, but since you didn't it has given me the chance to make up a set of rules that I expect to be abided by, understand?"

Considering he wasn't angry that we were in a relationship and in fact had been expecting this, neither one of us wanted to take a chance on upsetting him or saying/doing something to make him change his mind. So, both Derek and I remained quiet and just nodded.

"Good. Ok, first rule: Stiles is still underage for the next five months so, given that I don't want to see or hear anything inappropriate. Second, we have dinner at least once a week. I don't care if it's just us or if it's the whole pack, but we will be having dinner together. It can be here or at Derek's house once it's finished. And finally, I'm not going to go into an entire speech about it, just be safe."

By the end of his rules my dad had this pained look on his face and then it occurred to me what he was talking about and immediately I blushed.

"Dad! Please, stop. We haven't done…that. Nor have we discussed it so, just no." I exclaimed.

Derek was sitting beside me looking very pale and the tips of his ears had reddened in embarrassment. If I wasn't so embarrassed myself I would've thought it was funny. After reassuring my dad that Derek and I haven't had sex and agreeing to his rules, it was time to tell him about me wanting to move into the house when it was finished and about the whole mating thing.

"Dad, there's some other things we need to talk about." I said cautiously.

He looked at us and nodded his head to signal for us to continue. I nudged Derek letting him know that I wanted him to take the lead as to explaining the situation.

"Sheriff Stilinski." Derek started before my dad interrupted him.

"Derek, you're dating my son, please call me John." He told Derek sincerely.

Derek smiled a little and nodded, then continued.

"Ok, John. When it comes to werewolves and pack dynamics, everyone has a part in the pack. With me, of course, I'm in the alpha. Peter, Jackson, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd are betas and you and Stiles are human pack members."

"Wait." My dad said. "I'm pack?" he questioned.

Derek looked a little confused. "Well, yes. John you allowed for my pack to not only hold meetings here, but practically live here while I was gone and even now. That alone makes you pack, even without you being Stiles' father."

"Wow. Ok, well thanks, I guess." My dad said shocked. I don't think the dynamics that come with being friends with werewolves have fully caught up to him yet.

"No reason for thanks John. Every member of my pack has earned their place just the same as you. After finding out about all this stuff and how much danger Stiles has been in in the past, you could have easily refused to help or even called hunters into town. But much like Stiles, you're too good of a person for that. It doesn't bother you that we're different than you are and you don't see us as monsters, but as people who needed a safe place to meet and be is what made you a member of this pack. If it wasn't for you and Stiles the rest of my pack would still be under the leadership of an alpha they don't trust."

"You mean Scott?" my dad asked.

"Yes, even though they didn't trust him they stayed in his pack because they didn't want to risk becoming an omega, or a lone wolf. Most omegas are viewed as rogue wolves that need to be put down and while in some cases that is true, most of the time they are wolves that have lost or left their pack because they didn't feel safe. Their instincts told them that Stiles would keep them safe, just as Stiles' instincts told him to protect them at any cost."

"But Stiles isn't a werewolf." My dad replied, sounding confused.

"No, he's not. However, he's spent the better part of three years being around them and in a pack of them. Long-term exposure to werewolf lifestyle can cause humans to adapt to certain aspects of werewolf culture. Stiles has always had good instincts, but being around us has led him to focus on his instincts more than he normally would."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense. So, what about Stiles made your betas look to him for protection from Scott." My dad asked.

"Well, that's what we wanted to talk to you about dad." I said tentatively. "In pack dynamics there's beta wolves, humans, the alpha, and the alpha's mate."

I stopped speaking at this point to gauge my dad's reaction. For a moment, he looked confused, but then I saw realization fall over his face as he fully grasped what we were saying.

"So, not only are you and Derek dating, but you're also his mate?" he asked, surprisingly calm. Derek and I both nodded.

"Ok, so what exactly does that mean?" he inquired after a few minutes of silence.

"Well, in most cases, we would set out in a mating ceremony that would tie Stiles and I together forever. Wolves mate for life, and the same goes for werewolves." Derek informed him.

"But wait you in said in most cases. So, what does that mean for you two?"

"Well, as for now Stiles and I are just dating. As far as completing the mating ceremony, I would like to wait until after Stiles is eighteen. Not only will he be of legal age, but it also gives him sometime to research this and make sure that this is something that he wants to do. I would never force Stiles into anything that he didn't want. He's my mate and it's my responsibility to make sure that he's happy and taken care of in any way that I can."

And, wow. Just when I think that Derek can't surprise me anymore, he always seems to find a way. I know that he wouldn't force me into this life, but I also know that there is no other place that I'd rather be than by his side leading the pack with him. Apparently, my thoughts must have shown on my face because I heard my father chuckle and say:

"Well, I don't think any research is going to be needed from the look on Stiles' face."

My dad then got quiet and a sad look came over his face and I knew he was thinking about mom. We don't really talk about her much, but every so often I can catch him looking at me with this somber look on his face and I know that he's thinking about either how much I look/act like mom or how she would've been proud of me.

He looked up at us, with a sad smile on his face.  
>"Claudia used to have the same look of love on her face that Stiles just had on his when he was looking at you when she was holding Stiles." He stopped talking for a minute to collect himself emotionally.<br>"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Umm, yes. When the house is finished I want to move in there. I know that this is a lot of information and a big step, but you just said yourself that you can see how serious I am about this dad. And I mean most of time would be spent there anyway, this makes things easier than me trying to get home safely every night. You know where it is and who I'm going to be living with, plus Derek is having a bedroom put in for you as well and—"

"Stiles." I immediately stopped talking as my dad spoke up. He rubbed his hands over his eyes and sighed. I could see that this conversation had worn him out, but I could also see that he knew that there was no point in arguing with me about this.

"Ok, I'll make you a deal." He stated. "In the past few months you have been getting in less trouble and your grades have been really good. So, provided that you swear that you will continue to do well and stay out of trouble and you don't skip school in favor and spending all day with Derek, then ok. Fair?"

I nodded my head vigorously. "Definitely fair. Thank you dad." I said getting up to hug him. He held onto you me tightly for a long time. I know that this is hard for him, but at the same time he knows that I need to do this for me and my pack.

When we finally pulled apart he looked over to Derek and reached his hand out for him to shake it; Derek immediately stood and shook his hand.

"Take care of my son Derek." He said deadly serious.

Derek nodded. "I'd die before I allowed anything to happen to him Sheriff. And Stiles is right, there's a bedroom being built for you anytime you want to come and stay. Plus we can still have our pack meetings here if you would like. I know that family is important to you and to Stiles as well. The last thing I want is for you two to fall out because of this."

My dad smiled at that statement. "That's good to hear Derek, thank you. And I may take you two up on that offer to stay at the house. Well, I think that I'm going to go and get some sleep for a while. I ended up picking up an early shift tomorrow morning. I'll see you boys later."

And with that he went upstairs to his room. Derek and I sat back down on the couch to relax for a while before the pack came back. I'm glad that my dad is ok with me moving into the pack house, but at the same time I'm sad to leave him here, but I know that he'll always be there for me no matter what. I just hope that the conversation we're having with the Argents tomorrow will goes as well as the conversation with my dad went.


	8. The Argents & A Family Unit

Well, today is the big day; the day that Chris and Allison return from their trip. After everything that happened last year with the alpha pack, Darach, human sacrifices and Chris, Melissa and my dad being kidnapped; Chris decided that he and Allison needed some bonding time away from Beacon Hills. Allison wasn't all that excited about leaving Isaac, considering how new their relationship was, but in the end she decided that it would be a good idea to get to make sure that she wasn't just trying to use Isaac to get over Scott. With that in mind, Isaac has been incredibly nervous about them coming back. The last thing that Isaac wants is for Allison to come back and decide that she still wants to be with Scott. And to be quite honest, Chris doesn't like that idea any more than Isaac does.

The whole thing with Chris and Isaac is very strange; initially I thought that Chris didn't want Scott and Allison to be together because of the fact that Scott is a werewolf. And while that may have been the reasoning behind it in the beginning, it wasn't the reason that he held that position later on in their relationship. After a while I decided to just ask Chris about the reasoning behind his dating preference for Allison; and his reasons were honestly easy to understand. It seems as though Peter, Jackson, Isaac and I weren't the only ones that were having trouble trusting Scott after everything that happened.

However, for Chris, the mistrust went all the way back to when Derek bit Victoria. Scott never told Allison or Chris the reasoning behind Derek biting her. Apparently, after the whole Gerard incident Derek ran into Chris while searching for Erica and Boyd and Chris asked him about it. After finding out that Scott was pretty much the reason behind his wife's death, Chris really didn't trust Scott. But, to be completely honest, I think that Chris trusts Isaac more because they can relate to each other more; if you know what I mean.

Sometimes Chris lets Allison come over to my house to spend time with Isaac, and there have been a few times that they've come over early in the morning after Isaac has had a particularly bad night. I've noticed Chris giving Isaac these looks when he thinks no one is watching; looks like he knows what Isaac has been through and understands the pain he feels. Chris never talks about his childhood other than the fact that Gerard trained him to be a hunter, but he never explained how he trained him; and while he's never said anything about it, I do have my suspicions.

So, while I'm not exactly worried about Chris and Isaac having problems getting along, and Derek has sworn to me that he doesn't hold a grudge against Allison and Chris, there is still one last issue to resolve. Erica, Boyd and Allison. To be honest, I don't think that there will be a huge blow out between the three of them since so much time has passed; that and the fact that all three of them has gone through so many changes in their mindsets and mannerisms. However, the fact still remains that the last time they all were in the same room together, Erica, Boyd and I were being beaten and tortured by Allison and her crazy ass grandfather. I'm hoping that they will take a leaf out of Derek's book and leave the past in the past. With all of them coming back and all of us forming the new Hale pack we're going to have enough trouble as it is, undoubtedly most of it with Scott.

I'm currently standing in the kitchen at home making snacks for the meeting with Chris and Allison. Isaac, the golden pup that he is, offered to help me while the others prepared for the meeting. While being able to have everyone under one roof is great, my house is kind of limited on space. So, the rest of the pack is rearranging the living room to make sure that there's enough places for everyone to sit.

Thanks to the help of Boyd's dad's construction company, Jackson and his family's connections, and the money that Derek and Peter have from their family, the construction of the house should be completed months ahead of schedule, but for now we're all still hanging out, and partially living, at my house; it's surprisingly turned out well. Erica and Boyd's parents are happy that they're back home and more than likely believe that hanging out at the Sheriff's house with his kid will keep them out of trouble and in town; considering the fact that they both turned eighteen while they were gone. Even Derek and Peter seemed to be more liked in town due their closeness to my father.

Peter, who come to find out was actual a lawyer before the fire, has started sending out résumés to law offices in and around Beacon Hills and has received some decent feedback. It seems that as long as you have decent references no one really cares that you were in a semi-comatose state for almost six years. And Derek? Well, Derek has been sending off copies of his portfolio to various companies hiring for architectures, provided that he can work from home and keep his travels to a minimum. He's already going to have to travel for pack business when everything gets sorted out with the Argents and Scott, and he said that he doesn't want to have to spend any more time away from his pack than necessary.

Isaac and I were just finishing bringing everything into the living room when there was a knock on the door. Derek went over and opened and in stepped Chris and Allison. After a quick greeting and a handshake between Chris and Derek, he motioned for them to come inside. Allison, who all but ran into the living room, practically threw herself into Isaac's arms, telling him that she missed him. From the look on Isaac's face he definitely wasn't expecting her to still want to be with him, but he quickly recovered, hugging her back and telling her the same. As sad as it is to say, I can understand why Isaac was surprised. When you've spent the latter part of your childhood being treated the way he was, it's hard to expect that things will ever workout in your favor. I hope that Derek, the pack, and I will be able to help Isaac feel better about himself.

Once we were all seated in various places in the living room. Peter, Jackson, Erica, and Boyd on one couch; Derek, Isaac and myself on the other, and Allison and Chris in the two lounge chairs across from us. Chris started the conversation.

"Well, Derek, I can honestly say that it's good to see you back in Beacon Hills; the same goes for you two as well." Chris said directing his attention to Erica and Boyd. I noticed that when Chris mentioned them, Allison immediately looked down at her hands. Clearly she feels bad about what happened the last time that they say each other. But before anything could be mentioned about that Chris continued speaking.

"Just out of curiosity, why did you call this meeting? I mean it was my understanding that Scott is alpha and he isn't due back until tomorrow." He said looking from Derek to me, noticing our closeness to each other.

"Well, Chris, that's what we wanted to talk to you about." I said timidly.

Chris raised an eyebrow in a way of saying, "please continue".

"For the most part you're correct Chris; Scott is the alpha. However, Scott is only the alpha of the McCall pack; the pack that he has formed. Everyone in this room though, is a part of the Hale pack. Always have been, always will be." I said looking over the faces and smiles of my pack members and the proud smile on Derek's face. Like just the knowledge that we would all gladly follow him through hell, which I'm pretty sure that we have at least twice by now, is the greatest thing to him.

Chris looked a little shocked before he recovered. "Hale pack?" he asked and we all nodded. At that point I didn't know what to expect from Chris. I figured that he wouldn't be happy that there would two different alphas and packs in Beacon Hills, but other than that his personal reaction is going to be a complete surprise.

"Who's the alpha?" Chris asked.

Derek sat up a little straighter. "I am." He said as he flashed his eyes for emphasis.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did all this come about?" Chris asked, which then led us into an hour and a half long discussion, once again, about Derek and Cora's travels, the alpha attack, and Derek's courses in "Alpha Werewolf 101" (_Stiles, please stop calling it that_). Besides asking a couple of questions here and there Chris was mainly quiet during Derek's recalling of what has happened in the past few months. Once Derek was finished Chris turned towards me and asked about what I meant about all of us being Hale pack.

"I mean, I know that while Derek was gone that you guys had Scott as your alpha. So, what has changed?" Chris asked.

"It's not really that simple Chris. Peter, Jackson, Isaac and I may have attended the pack meetings and even help them out when needed, but none of us were actually a part of Scott's pack." I said.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked looking honestly confused.

"Well, for Jackson, Peter, and Isaac, there wolves could never accept Scott as their alpha. Not when their alliance was with Derek. Not to mention the fact that neither Peter nor Jackson really care that much for Scott. It's hard to look to someone for leadership when you don't trust them. And Isaac has always been loyal to Derek, ever since he turned him." I told him honestly, and it surprised me how true it was.

For the better part of three years, Scott has done nothing but isolate himself and me from everyone that knows anything about actually being a werewolf in favor of listening to Deaton, who can never actually give anyone a straight answer. And now, although at this point I'm not shocked, he's continuing to do it again. The only difference is that now, he's the alpha, and the decisions that he does or does not make affect and entire group of people and not just him. That's the one thing that I can say about Derek when he was an alpha the last time. No matter how misguided or wrong the things he did were, he always did them because he thought it was the right move for the pack as a whole and not just himself. Derek has done some messed up things in the past, but not once since I've met him have I felt like that he put his well-being before mine or anyone else's that he deemed pack.

Chris took a minute to think over everything I said. He raised his head and looked towards me.

"And what about you Stiles? You've told me why everyone else here is a part of the Hale pack, but what about you? Because, no offense, it would seem more likely that you would want Scott to be your alpha than Derek considering how close you two are."

And, damn he had a point.

"You're right, Chris. Scott and I are close; he's like my brother and it's for that fact and some other things that have happened in the past that I don't want him to be my alpha. It's hard to take someone seriously as an alpha when they ate glue all the way up until second grade because, and I quote, "It taste like marshmallows". Not to mention, how many times he's gone off on his own because he "thought he was doing the right thing". That's not someone that I want making decisions for me in a life or death situation. I want someone that I can trust to help me when things get rough and for me, that person is Derek."

Chris nodded and gave a small chuckle. "Well, I can't say that overly thrilled that Beacon Hills is now going to have two packs in it, but at least one of them actually knows what they're doing." He stated before looking directly at Derek.

"I'm going to tell you the exact same thing that I'm going to tell Scott. Allison and I aren't hunters, not anymore, the Argent Clan is officially retired. We will still keep in contact with others so that they know that werewolves here are not to be hunted provided that no one has been harmed. As for us being a part of a pack, Allison can do what she pleases, but I'm going to choose to stay neutral and not pick a side. Anyone from either pack is more than willing to come to me for anything, provided that it doesn't involve harming or betraying the trust of the other pack. If this is going to work then we all have to be willing to work together and put or personal feelings aside. Is that something you think you can do Derek?"

"That won't be an issue Chris. I don't harbor any feelings towards Scott; neither good nor bad. As long as he doesn't try anything and is respectful, then there won't be any issues from us." Derek answered honestly.

"Ok, so, is there anything else I should know about?" Chris asked as he gathered his things to head out.

"Yes, Stiles is my mate and Peter and I are rebuilding the house." Derek said bluntly. And, wow, way to go on delivering news dude.

Chris stopped and looked up at us.

"I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?" He asked.

"Derek and I are mates. My dad already knows and is fine with it. Derek and Peter are rebuilding the house and we'll all be moving in there when it's finished; again my dad knows and is fine with it." I assured Chris.

"Yes, and there will be room for you and Allison to stay if need be, but that's entirely up to you." Derek added.

"Is this what you want Stiles?" Chris inquired tentatively. At my nod that yes this is what I wanted, he stood.

"Then I think congratulations are in order to the two of you and your pack. A mated alpha makes for a stronger, more stable pack." Chris shook both mine and Derek's hands before heading towards the front door.

"If there's anything you all need you know how to reach me. I'm going to head home and prepare a new treaty and decompress from the trip. Allison are you staying?"

Allison looked towards Derek to see if it would be alright. With his approval she decided to stay. After Chris left Allison took her turn to speak.

"I first want to apologize for what I've done in the past. I know that I already have, but I didn't get the chance to apologize to you three." She mentioned looking towards Derek, Erica and Boyd.

"And if it's alright with you guys, I'd like to be a part of the Hale pack."

She continued before locking eyes with Isaac. We all knew what she meant though; Allison was staking her claim. She was not only letting us know that she was choosing Derek over Scott, but that she was also choosing Isaac over Scott. Looking around the room, everyone else understood what was going on as well.

Derek looked at everyone as to gauge their reaction to Allison joining and everyone seemed ok with it. With this knowledge Derek walked over to Allison, who bared her throat to allow Derek to scent her, welcoming her to the pack.

We all decided to have a pack bonding night and just watch old Disney movies and order pizzas for dinner. Everyone was pretty much just piled together surrounding Derek and myself. It was sitting there that I remembered something that I read in Talia's books.

_"A pack isn't just a group of werewolves and humans with a common interest or bond. A pack should always be a group of people, werewolves and humans alike that share a bond, but also a love for one another and a willingness to protect each other no matter what. A pack should be like a family."_

Looking around the room at everyone I realized that's what we had; a family. I only wish Cora could be here to share in the new life that her uncle and brother have in their hometown. It was at this time that Derek's phone began to ring and he stepped out of the room to answer it. When he came back he was in a considerably good mood. I looked towards him questionably. He just smiled, kissed me and said, "Cora's coming home." I returned his smile.

Well, looks like I'm getting my wish.


	9. Moving Day & Betrayal

My house has been busier than ever now that Cora is back in town; and strangely enough the house has been feeling more like home to me than ever before. It's extremely weird, but after being out all day running errands or watching the rest of the pack train in the reserve, coming back to my house it's almost as if there's a large weight off of our shoulders and we can breathe a little easier. According to Peter, that's exactly how the Hale house used to make him feel.

_"Being pack is more than just a state of mind or a feeling; being pack is….everything. It's the way we move, the way we react to each other, the way we breathe, eat and sleep. Everything we do is in tune with each and our alpha; it shows our strength as a pack. The pack house is a symbol of that bond. A strong bond between pack members helps make the pack house a safe haven for us all. It makes the problems of the outside world seem trivial and ensures us safety from anyone that isn't pack. Being in a pack is all about being able to depend on each other no matter what. That's one way that I know what Scott has isn't a true pack. They're all too independent from each other; too worried about being deemed weak so they never want to ask for help or admit that they need one another. None of them realize that it's that dependence on each other that makes them stronger and makes them pack. I can't really blame them though; their alpha is taking leadership pointers from someone who doesn't understand how a pack is supposed to work."_

Thinking back to when we were a part of Scott's pack, what Peter said makes sense. There were plenty of times when Isaac or Jackson would have nightmares and the only people that would realize the something was wrong was me and Peter. I mean sure we had pack meetings, but they were more along the lines of "let's get everyone in a room and awkwardly stare at each other for 45 minutes until someone decided to leave" (which was usually Lydia). It was like that they couldn't stand to be around each other for long periods of time.

Whereas with us, we don't really like to be a part for any long periods of time. We've even gone as far as having our respective parents/guardians request that we all be put in some of the same classes. We used the cover that it would be best for Cora's benefit, considering how long it's been since she was home schooled in the pack she lived with after the fire. For the most part Cora is pretty much caught up with everything that she needs to be, but in some respects she's exactly like her brother socially. While Derek has gotten better at using his words instead of just glaring, well at least he has with me, Cora still prefers to try and glare people into submission. One person that it surprisingly works well on is Jackson.

Jackson and Cora's relationship is something that took us all by surprise, but I mean I guess when you think about it the two them being together makes sense. They're both insanely attractive and complete assholes, but they make it work between them. If there's one thing I know for sure is that Cora's going to give Lydia a run for her money as Queen Bitch of the school and with Jackson by her side there's no doubt in my mind that Cora will win. It seems like most of our pack is filled with power couples: Derek and I, alpha and alpha's mate; Isaac and Allison, omega and former hunter; Erica and Boyd, both bad ass betas; and Jackson and Cora, soon to be newly crowned King and Queen of Beacon Hills High School. The only single person in our pack is Peter and according to him, he has his eyes set on someone; unfortunately he won't tell us who.

My dad is taking everything extremely well; all things considering. It seems like he enjoys having a full house and I suppose the fact that I'm no longer lying to him about what's been going on lately helps, as well as the pack being here. I was still fairly young when my mother passed away and all though we've never really talked much about I can tell sometimes that my dad would've liked to have more children. It was easy to notice considering the way he automatically started fathering Scott after his dad left. Any and everything that he did for me, he made sure that he did for Scott as well. So, in a way, I guess Peter and Derek aren't the only ones that had a drive for (more) family.

Here lately everything has been going great for all of us. But of course, that's when everything went to shit.

The house is finally finished, luckily before school started back, and we were all excited to be able to move in. The house ended up being two stories high and has nine bedrooms. Unfortunately, today is also the day that Scott and his back are supposed to come back. I've been worried about this ever since Derek and the others came back to town. I know that Scott isn't going to be thrilled that Derek is back and an alpha again, but more than anything I know that he'll be pissed that I'm part of Derek's pack and not his anymore. I just hope that Scott will listen to reason and not fly off the handle; because there's one thing that I know for sure, if Derek and the rest of the pack get the smallest inkling that Scott will try to either take me away from them or hurt me, they'll kill him.

Luckily enough for me, Chris has been following the same thought process that I have. With that being said, Chris called Derek and let him know that he's already contacted Scott and set up a meeting with him. He didn't fully tell Scott what the meeting was about, but he made sure he knew that all of his pack members needed to show up. Chris is also allowing us to use his house for the meeting, seeing as how it will be considered a mutual meeting place since he's not picking sides. Not to mention the fact that Chris has taken every precaution that he can to make sure that this is a peaceful meeting, but we can only hope that everything goes well.

(**NO POV)**

Chris was pacing in his living room, waiting for Scott and his pack to arrive to discuss the "new developments". Of course, what Chris wanted to talk about wasn't really a new development; not really. Derek had been an alpha before, so that wasn't really news, and Beacon Hills has always been Hale territory, so that's not a big deal either. What was going to be a big deal was getting Scott to understand that just because he's an alpha now doesn't mean that he's in charge. By the laws of werewolf territory the elder Alpha is lead alpha; adding into account that Derek is a Hale, there's no way possible that Scott could have any claim on Beacon Hills. As far as other alphas are concerned they would either consider Scott and his pack poaching on Derek's territory and damn them for it, or praise Derek for allowing a territory less alpha and his pack on his land. How all this plays out is completely dependent on Scott's reaction and his behavior; this is what has Chris so worried.

If Scott doesn't take this well and tries to fight Derek for Beacon Hills, Derek will have no choice but to kill him; and not even just because of the territory. The main reason is alphas in surrounding areas. The Hale pack has always been a respected and feared pack, based mainly on the strength of the alpha. If Derek allows Scott to slide with any type of indiscretion then that could bring about all-out war for Beacon Hills; and while the war would only be between werewolves, there's no telling how many humans could potentially get caught up in the mess.

After waiting what seems like hours, Chris hears cars pulling into his drive way and goes to open the door; praying that this meeting goes well. Chris ushers them inside and to the living room.

"So, Mr. Argent, what's this about?" Scott asks as he and the pack get comfortable on one side of the living room. As he sits down Scott can't help but notice the extra chairs in the living room. _Who else is joining this meeting? _He wonders to himself. Scott tried to call Stiles and the rest of the pack, what he thinks is still his pack, but there was no answer.

Scott isn't that surprised to be honest, after the blowout he had with Isaac, Stiles spends most of his time with him, Peter and Jackson. Scott can't seem to understand why though. When Isaac was first turned he wasn't exactly all that nice to Stiles; and let's not forget the years of torment that Stiles suffered at the hands of Jackson and Peter trying to kill him. And yet, after all of that Stiles still goes out of his way to comfort them and make them feel safe; while Scott, as their alpha, can't bring himself to do the same.

Deaton refers to it as one of Scott's shortcomings as a leader, and tells him that he needs to learn to put his personal vendettas aside if he wants to be a successful alpha. However, Scott just can't seem to do it; how do you get over someone stealing your girlfriend, and now it seems your best friend as well, in Isaac's case; your humanity in Peter's case; and for bullying you for as long as you can remember? Chris eventually speaks up after everyone is seated, breaking into Scott's thoughts.

"Well, Scott, the fact is we need to discuss the fact that Derek has returned to Beacon Hills; as well as Erica, Boyd, and Cora." Chris explains bluntly, figuring that it would be best to get that news out first then jump into the heavy things when Derek and his pack arrives.

Scott snorts. "So, what? He wants to join my pack?" Scott, Aiden, Ethan and Lydia share a laugh, while Danny just looks on in confusion.

Chris calms himself before he does something drastic, like smacking all three of them, and answers Scott's question.

"No, Scott, Derek doesn't want or need to join your pack, that's one of the things we need to discuss when they get here."

Aiden tilts his head in the same manner that a dog would before letting everyone know that Derek's almost to the house.

"What do you mean "they"?" Scott asks, referring to what Chris said. Chris says nothing but walks out of the room to open the door for Derek and his pack. He honestly hoped that Scott wouldn't have picked up on the fact that he said "they".

Scott, sensing that something is up, sits up straighter determined not to be deemed weak in Derek's eyes. While Scott doesn't want to admit it, all he wants is to prove that he's a better alpha than Derek. Scott, along with Peter, Isaac, Stiles and Jackson, was sure that Derek would eventually return to Beacon Hills, and when he did Scott wanted to rub it in his face that he managed to keep his pack together and alive. This was one of the main reasons that Scott listens to Deaton as much as he does.

Scott doesn't have much time to mentally prepare himself for what's to come before Derek and the rest of them are walking in. As soon as Derek walked in, Scott knew. Scott knew that Derek was an alpha, and he knew that this meeting was definitely not about joining pack; this meeting was about how Scott and Derek would work together as alphas in Beacon Hills. It was then that Scott realized why no one answered his call; they're not his pack anymore, they're Derek's.

Scott's suspicions are validated when they walk in behind Derek. As everyone walked in, Erica on Boyd's arm; Allison on Isaac's arm; Cora on Jackson's arm; and Peter by himself, all Scott could do was hope that Stiles wouldn't come in along with them. Surely Stiles wouldn't abandon him like the rest of them did; Stiles and Derek didn't even like each other much less want anything to do with each other. Scott was angry enough that Allison was still with Isaac, but if Stiles was a part of Derek's pack, he didn't know what he would do.

Derek and his pack sat down directly across from Scott and his. Scott couldn't help but notice two things. One being that Chris was still standing by the front door, as if he was waiting for someone and two, there was a spot open between Derek and Jackson. _Who could the spot be for? _Scott got his answer as Stiles walked into the house. At first, Scott was going to get up and hug his best friend that was until he realized that Stiles wasn't even paying attention to him; no Stiles was completely focused on Derek.

Scott couldn't believe that Stiles would actually pick Derek over him, but then Scott realized the way that Stiles was looking at Derek. This wasn't just look that someone would give their alpha, this was a look that someone would give their significant other. Stiles wasn't just a part of Derek's pack; Stiles and Derek were in a relationship!

Chris could practically see the wheels turning in Scott's head and could tell when he put everything together and realized that Derek and Stiles' relationship was more than just that of an alpha and his pack member. In order to stop an all-out brawl from happening Chris stepped forward and explained everything that he could.

"Ok, first things first. Scott if you haven't already figured it out yet, Derek is an alpha again and his betas have returned to join his pack. But that's not the issue at hand here. The issue is you understanding the significance of Derek being alpha again."

"What's the problem then?" Scott said through clenched teeth, obviously angry at Stiles' choice of alpha and boyfriend.

"No problem, as long as you understand that by Derek being an alpha and a Hale, Beacon Hills is rightfully his territory." Chris informed them.

"What does that mean?" Danny asked.

This time it was Derek that spoke up.

"It basically means that while Scott is an alpha he still has to defer to me. If I should so choose I could make you all leave or make Scott give up his betas; much like Deucalion tried to get me to do. But I won't do any of those. The way I see it is that as long as we can coexist peacefully then no one will be forced from their home." Derek answered calmly.

Derek was the only one besides Chris and Peter that had a full understanding of what was at stake here. He knew that by pushing too hard or being too lenient would make Scott want to act out and prove himself worthy of being the only alpha in Beacon Hills. Derek knew that the only way to make Scott understand the situation fully was to be blunt and tell him everything that could possibly go wrong; all he had to do was wait for someone to ask the question. Derek should've known that it was going to be Lydia that asked.

"Why would we listen to you to begin with? You're not our alpha Scott is."

"Because this is Hale land. Beacon Hills has been in my family for generation after generation; we've lived and died here and it's my family's blood that runs through this town and the reserve. Peter and I have a connection to the land that none of you will ever understand. Every alpha within 200 miles of here knows that this is Hale territory. What do you honestly think will happen if they hear some unknown alpha and his pack are inhabiting it now? It would be an all-out war between you all and whoever decides to come here and challenge you for this land. War means that not only are your lives in danger but so are the lives of every human in Beacon Hills. Can you live with that on your conscious? Knowing that you five are solely responsible for everyone in this town?"

Derek stared Scott's pack down. Danny looked like he was on the verge of being sick just at the thought of a war breaking out, while Lydia, Aiden and Ethan had a look of understanding in that in this case it would be best for them to fade into the background and not cause any trouble. The only one of them whose face showed no emotion was Scott, who was staring at Stiles like they were the only ones in the room; Stiles in turn was looking right back at Scott. It was clear that there was some kind of silent communication going on between the two of them, but no one could decipher what was being said. Derek finally got tired of it and spoke up.

"Scott, did you hear anything I said?" He asked.

Scott finally broke eye contact with Stiles and looked at Derek.

"Yeah, I heard you. It's not like I have a choice in the matter, is there? I either defer to you or put everyone in this town at risk. So, what do we need to do?" Scott said clearly with disdain in his voice. He hoped by him being an alpha now the last thing he would have to do would be to listen to what Derek said.

"We don't have to do anything really. If there's a problem then we meet just like this with Chris being our mediator. Otherwise we don't have to come in contact with each other unless you want to. Peter and I have rebuilt the house and we've all moved in so we'll more than likely spend most of our time there and in the reserve by the house." Derek answered honestly.

Scott nodded his head before looking back at Stiles.

"So, is Derek your best friend now Stiles?"

"What's your problem Scott?" Stiles asked. Stiles knew that Scott wouldn't like the idea of Stiles not being a part of his pack but the whole death glare thing was getting old.

Scott huffed out a laugh before speaking.

"I don't have a problem Stiles. I'm just confused as to why you decided to join Derek's pack. I mean after all you weren't too keen on joining him before. What's changed?"

"Everything's changed Scott. People have died and lives are at stake here. If I'm going to be a part of this then I want to follow an alpha that listens to his pack members and knows what's going on. Look Scott you're like my brother and you always will be, which is partly why you can't be my alpha." Stiles tried to explain to Scott.

"Why not? If we were brothers it would seem like you would support me and not him." Scott practically yelled.

Derek in response to what felt like his mate being threatened tensed up preparing to attack Scott if needed. Stiles feeling Derek tense up placed his hand on Derek's thigh to calm him down; this action was not missed by Scott.

"So, is that it?" he asked gesturing to Stiles and Derek's positions next to each other.

"Derek somehow convinced you that he actually cares about you so you just abandon me at the drop of a hat?"

Derek automatically leans forward getting into a defensive position and also warning Scott that he's close to be torn apart for disrespecting another alpha's mate, but once again Stiles puts a hand on Derek to calm him down before looking back at Scott.

"Look Scott, I know that you're upset but nothing you can say is going to change anything. Scott, I've known you since we were kids. I can't see you as someone to take orders from, ok? I'm sorry but I can't be part of your pack, but that doesn't have to change anything in our relationship." Stiles tried to reason.

Scott gave a pitiful and angry laugh before standing up.

"No, Stiles, it changes everything. How can you claim to be my best friend after you deliberately stab me in the back and then abandon me? Especially now, when I needed your support the most."

Scott shook his head before turning to address Derek.

"If there's an issue you know how to reach me, otherwise stay the hell away from me!" And with that Scott, Lydia, Aiden, Ethan and Danny left Chris' house.

For a while everything was quiet before Stiles spoke up.

"Well, it could have been worse."


	10. Life in Beacon Hills

To say that things are weird would be a complete understatement. Don't get me wrong; they're not weird in a bad way, it's just things aren't how I expected them to be. I always envisioned my senior year would be much like my freshman; standing side by side with Scott ready to take on anything that came or way. And for the most part my predictions were true, but I'm not standing with Scott anymore. Now, it's me, Jackson, Cora, Isaac, Allison, Boyd, and Erica ready to take on our senior year. And let me tell you, walking into school on the first day, it was obvious no one else expected it either.

Thanks to training with the pack during the summer I've bulked up a bit, and I can run suicides at lacrosse practice without almost dying. Coach is impressed with my improved performance and even more so excited that Jackson is back and that we've managed to get Boyd on the team as well. Scott and Danny are still on the team as well, but surprisingly Aiden and Ethan didn't show up to practice. Scott is less than amused at the fact that Coach decided to make Jackson team captain again, regardless of Scott, but he'll get over it eventually.

Things with the girls are interesting, especially with Cora here. Much as I predicted, Cora Hale has swooped in and stolen Lydia's role as Queen of Beacon Hills. Even though she's still a little bitchy she's much nicer than Lydia ever was. And of course, her dating the returning star of the lacrosse team helped as far as her population level. Don't get me wrong, Lydia is still just as popular today as she was before Cora started at Beacon Hills, but for once she's got some actually competition.

I don't know what makes her angrier, the fact that no one bows down to her like the queen that she thinks that she is, or the fact that Jackson wants absolutely nothing to do with her. As much as Lydia tries to deny it, I honestly think that Lydia still wants to be with Jackson, but doesn't know how to go about it. For the most part, I think Lydia always expected her and Jackson to be endgame, mainly because he let her boss him around. Now that Jackson and Cora are together I think that she realizes that that's not going to happen.

It's amazing to me how much we've all changed in the past few months, not only are we are happier and closer to each other, there are other ways that we've changed personally. Isaac, for instance, after Derek turned him he went on the usual power trip that most bitten wolves go through, which is mainly why we didn't get along at first, but after the initially shock of everything and all we've been through he's gone back to the nice quiet kid he was before all this werewolf stuff. Allison is more of a team player than she was before it seems that the time she and her father spent away from here over the summer gave her a better insight on where she wanted to be and what she wanted in life. She and Chris still train a lot, the only difference is that they train alongside with us rather than apart. Chris says it's to show that no matter what we're all in this together.

Erica and Boyd have also gotten over their power kicks but more importantly they understand the meaning of pack. Before they ran away because they were afraid of the unknown and thought that they could find peace and freedom elsewhere. However, due to some bad run-ins with other alphas and hunters they've realized that nowhere they run to will be safe without a pack. It's like they say the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Needless to say with the bonding they were able to do with Derek and Cora on their way back to Beacon Hills there's no longer any bad blood between them. Isaac was upset with them for a little while, mainly because he considered the family and they left him here with Scott, but that's all water under the bridge now.

Peter, Cora, and Derek have to be the biggest changes of all. Peter had already changed and sought out redemption from Isaac, Jackson and myself but didn't have that chance with Derek and Cora. What I thought would turn into a giant blow-out remained a civilized conversation. Peter owned up to what he did and formally apologized to both Derek and Cora, who seemed to take it as well as could be expected. Both Derek and Cora don't blame Peter for what he did considering the fact that he was pretty much feral and blinded by hate and revenge, they all just wish that Laura didn't have to be a victim to his madness.

Cora's bitterness towards me and the rest of the pack died away too. It seems as though the only reason she was acting like that was because she was jealous that we had a closer relationship to Derek than she did. It took some time for her to realize that it was only because of their forced separation due to the tragedy that struck their family. The time they spent away together really helped rebuild their relationship; come to find out Baby Hale used to idolize her big brother just like Derek did to Laura. After returning to Beacon Hills Cora has made it her mission to get to know the pack better and has even apologized to Isaac for the part she had in Derek throwing him out of the loft. The biggest obstacle I see her having is repairing her relationship with Peter. Not saying that neither of them want to; it's just the fact that she's had a shorter period of time to come to terms with Laura's death, but I have faith in the both of them that they can work it out; after all, we're all family.

Speaking of family my dad and Mrs. McCall seem to be getting closer here lately. Apparently, Scott went home after our meeting claiming that Derek "stole" me away from him and that I was too blind to see that Derek was just going to ruin my life like he did his. Melissa, as she insists that we all call here now, was confused so she went to speak to my dad about it. After hearing the full true story, she told Scott that he was being immature and childish and that he needed to understand where I was coming from when I said that I couldn't have him as my alpha. She tried explaining to him that it came from a place of love for him and our friendship and that him being my alpha would more than likely ruin our friendship. His only response was that we no longer had a friendship because I chose Derek over him. Honestly, between Scott and Lydia they could run the drama department of our school on overreacting. But ever since their conversation, my dad and Melissa have been spending a lot more time together. And even more surprising I've spotted Chris and Peter out and about in town a few times as well. It seems unbeknownst to all of us Chris and Peter briefly dated when they were in high school before Gerard put a stop to it. It seems those feelings they have for each other however, never went away.

I haven't seen nor heard from Scott, but from what Danny has told Jackson, Danny refuses to give up his friendship with Jackson regardless of what Scott says, he's been training them nonstop for weeks trying to prove that he has the stronger pack. While we have been training, it's nowhere as extensive as the training that Scott's pack has been doing. When I asked Derek about it he told me, "_Not all of a pack's strength is physical. Most of it comes from the bonds that they have with each other. An emotionally strong pack is ten times as stronger as one that just has physical strength because they don't know how to work together_." Hearing how hard Scott is training them makes me worried. I know for a fact that Lydia isn't doing any type of training, which just leaves Aiden, Ethan and Danny. I'm not too worried about Aiden and Ethan, they're werewolves and handle it. I'm mainly worried about Danny, he already has a steel rod under his diaphragm to help him breathe normally. If Scott's not careful he could seriously harm Danny; and if that happens Ethan will most definitely try to kill him.


	11. New friends and allies

It's official; I need a new trainer for my spark. Before, when Deaton was teaching me all of my lessons revolved around reading protection spells and studying the history of the sparks. I've always felt that Deaton wasn't giving me all the information that I needed or that he was purposely leaving things out that he felt that could be used against him if need be. My suspicions were confirmed when I began reading from the Hale library. It seems that Talia kept records of everything and from what I can tell, with the "training" I've had I should be at least twice as strong as I am now.

Upon learning this I went and spoke to Derek and Peter to see if they could think of anyone from any allying packs that would be willing to train or advise me until I fully get the hang of my powers. Peter mentioned that there's a pack in San Diego that they were close to that has very talented and would be willing to me. While I was excited to hear this, I knew that I had to wait and see what Derek said about all of this.

Even though it's my choice on whether or not this person helps me in my training; they will no doubt have to travel here to do so. Because I know me traveling there, no matter how short of a time period, is kind of out of the question right now. Derek isn't necessarily a "new" alpha, but he's new in the sense that he has a better idea of what to do and what to expect from others. Taking that into account with the fact that I'm his unclaimed mate and he's definitely not going to want me traveling into another alpha's territory without knowing how they feel about Derek being alpha of the Hale pack, regardless of their previous relationship with his family; but it seems like Derek has other ideas.

"Peter, can you get in contact with their alpha, Allen?" Upon Peter's acknowledgement that he could, Derek continued.

"Call him as soon as you can and invite him and his pack here to Beacon Hills. It's time that we reestablish the connections that my mother had with the surrounding packs. At one point we could all look to each other for support and friendship and that ended after the fire. Hopefully, we can gain it back and Allen would be a good person to start with."

Peter went off to find Allen's number and set up the meeting while Derek pulled me aside to talk.

"When Peter confirms whether or not Allen and his pack will come, we'll need to have a pack meeting letting everyone and explaining how they should act around them." Derek informed me.

"Is there anything different that we need to do?" I inquired, worried that we wouldn't be perceived as a real pack. Even though we're a pack of mostly bitten teenage wolves, a spark and an ex-hunter; we still represent the Hale pack. The absolute last thing that I want to do is ruin the image that Talia had built up for them. Derek sensing my worry was quick to reassure me.

"Don't worry Stiles. The only thing we need to make sure of is that the pack respect what both you and I say at all times. I know when it's just us they tend to be a little mouthy before they do things. We just need to make them understand that if Allen and his pack come here, that can't happen. It's important that we show that we're a stable, strong pack and that everyone understands their place."

Of course, out of all the things that our pack would need to do, _behave_, had to be the biggest issue; don't get me wrong, our pack for the most part is very well behaved. The only thing is we are a very playful pack, in the sense that we enjoy teasing and making fun of each other just because. And while this is acceptable for us, I don't know how the other alpha and pack will view it. Derek must sense my worry and immediately embraces me to calm me down.

"Don't worry Stiles, the only thing that they need to not do is insult me, you, and the other alpha pair and everything will be fine. I promise. Allen is a good guy, him and my father were close friends. Laura and I stayed with them for a while after the fire; he always hoped that we would return and the Hale pack would once again flourish. He'll be happy to see this, us, I promise."

After cuddling into Derek and listening to what he said I finally calmed down enough to where I could fully think. Derek's right of course, as long as we're respectful to the other pack we should be fine and considering that Allen wanted the Hale pack back in Beacon Hills is a bonus, but I couldn't help but ask.

"Is there anything else we should worry about?" I asked, finally looking up from Derek's chest to make eye contact. From the look in his eyes I knew there was something.

"Allen and his pack are friendly, yet traditional, they believe that there's only room for one pack in a particular area."  
>Derek stopped and took a deep breath before continuing.<br>"If they see Scott and his pack they will more than likely deem them as a threat to us and our pack and attack without provocation. They won't do this out of hate or malice, but as a sign of respect to us and the Hale pack in general. I don't think it'll be an issue though. Scott and his pack never come this far out into the reserve and I'm going to try and keep everyone here at the house for the most part. As long as Scott continues to stay away we'll be fine."

As always here lately, our peaceful lives depend on Scott not acting like a complete ass and ruining things for everyone because he's not happy that things aren't going his way. Every single time we have a problem it's because of something Scott has done or said, thinking he knows what's best for everyone else around him. But then thinking about it, it's always been like this between the two of us, ever since we were kids.

Most people think that I was the one who was always getting us into trouble, but it wasn't always my idea. I mean sure there were plenty of times where I got an idea to do something crazy or dangerous, but considering my ADHD it was very rare that I keep an idea in my head for very long. So, for the most part, Scott came up with things for us to do and when it went wrong or he got hurt I was blamed for it because of my ADHD; and not once did he ever speak up and defend me, he always let me take the fall. What kind of friend does that?

Derek sensing that I was getting lost in my thoughts leaned down and gave me a gentle kiss breaking me from my thoughts. I smiled gratefully at him and we started heading back into the house. Even though Derek is a great distraction from what was going on in my mind, I couldn't help but wonder, _has Scott ever really been my friend?_

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry it's been so long, but school has been crazy. But now it's Christmas break so hopefully I'll be able to write more. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and there's more to come. Also, for anyone that read my other story Forming a pack & a family, I'll be starting the second part to that soon as well. Thanks for your continued support! **


	12. Meetings and Revelations

**Two Chapters in one day! Whoo!**

After talking things over with Allen and his mate it was decided that they would visit us within the next week; which gave Derek and I enough time to make sure that everyone (read Jackson) understood that they weren't to tease me in front of Allen and his pack if we wanted to have them as allies. Derek explained that Allen's pack is the largest pack near Beacon Hills, and that gaining his respect as an alpha will help bring the get the work out that the Hale pack is still thriving.

According to Derek, they would arrive at about lunch time on Monday and leave at nightfall on Wednesday. They couldn't stay very long because they didn't want to leave their betas alone for a long period of time. For one, it wouldn't be good for pack relations and two, they didn't want another pack trying to steal their territory; they may be a large and old pack but there were some out there that didn't care about numbers or respect. They simply wanted all the territory that they could take and would shed eminence amounts of blood to do so. It's common for alphas traveling to another alpha's territory to bring their mate and their second in charge to represent a strong front. So, we knew for sure at least three representatives from the Moss pack would be arriving; four if Allen's second had a mate.

Over the next week, I did what I do best; panic. I cleaned the house from top to bottom, making sure everything was in order for their arrival. Derek and the rest of the pack tried their best to calm me down or at the very least distract me but nothing worked. By the time the week of the Moss pack's visit the entire house was sparkling clean and I had reorganized the entire house at least twelve times. By the time Isaac came in the house and told me that he could hear their cars coming towards the house I had made a huge salad, (because even though they're werewolves that doesn't mean that they should try and survive on meat alone), 6 large pans of lasagna, and about 2 loafs of garlic bread. I was going to make a dessert as well but then Derek distracted me with an hour long makeout session; apparently my nervousness was putting his wolf on high alert.

Once they pulled up to the house, we all went out to meet them Derek and I in the front and the rest of the pack behind us in order according to ranking in the pack. Peter explained to us how it was very important to maintain a strong front and not to allow ourselves the slightest chance to look weak or make it any more obvious that we are a fairly new pack. So we all made sure that everyone knew where to stand and to stand tall and look proud. Derek and I were in the front, then stood Isaac and Alison, then Jackson and Cora, Erica and Boyd, and then finally Peter. Chris, Melissa and my dad would be joining us later on. Melissa and my dad had work and Chris is starting up a new business venture in Beacon Hills; Argent's Artillery.

As we stood waiting two cars pulled into the drive and stopped; then we got our first look at Allen and his pack members. Allen and his mate Elise got out of the first car; Allen was extremely tall, with broad shoulders and a small that could either make you feel at ease or make you think that today was going to be your last day living; either way he definitely didn't look like someone you wanted as an enemy. He had prominent facial features, almost as if he was sculpted from stone and his skin tone was similar to Danny's. Elise was of average height for a woman and yet she seemed like she 10 feet tall; the way she carried herself and the amount of confidence that came from her was amazing. In one way she reminded me of Lydia incredible beautiful with long hair, only hers was this beautiful golden brown. Once she made her way around the car her eyes locked with mine and I swear they flashed a bright purple before settling back to the normal hazel color that they were. You could definitely tell that they were the alpha pair just from the power you could feel running off of them.

Allen's second and his mate were no different in the sense that they also gave off waves of power but their appearances differed. Markus was of average height and his complexion was darker than Allen's. He had long black hair and the strangest eyes. People always say that the eyes are the way to look into someone's souls, but Markus' eyes weren't. I couldn't tell anything from them, he just looked immensely bored with the entire scenario but when he looked in my direction he gave a slight smile and bowed his head a little; strangely I felt warmed by this gesture and returned it to him. His mate, Jasmine reminded me of Jasmine from Aladdin. She had the same skin tone and long black wavy hair, but she seemed a lot happier than Jasmine from the movie; her entire personality was just bubbly and she didn't stop smiling once she got out of the car.

As custom Allen and Elise stepped forward as did Derek and I. We shook hands and introduced ourselves and then our pack members. Once everyone was familiar with each other and Allen and his pack were informed on the impending arrival of the rest of our pack members we headed inside for lunch and to get to know each other.

After we ate we all ventured into the backyard so that we could all spread out and talk amongst ourselves. Allen, Elise, Derek and I stayed seated on the porch while everyone else sat around a fire pit that Derek built.

"It's good to see you again Derek, it's especially good to see that you're doing well with your pack." Allen commented.

"I had heard some troubling news about Beacon Hills that sounded like a rogue wolf. I'm pleased and impressed that you were able to take care of it."

Derek nodded and looked towards Peter before turning back to Allen.

"Peter had some problems, Laura was killed and the alpha powers went to him. He'd spent the better part of six years in a rehabilitation center unable to move or heal, having to relive the fire over and over again. When he finally got free, he was drunk with power and on a mission of revenge and hate. We were able to stop him before it went too far but still too many were lost because of it. He still feels guilty, but he's made peace with it, as have I." Derek spoke calmly.

Allen took this information in and nodded in understanding.

"If I were in his shoes, I would've burned Beacon Hills to the ground. I can't imagine losing my entire pack, let alone my family like that." Allen paused before continuing.

"It's one of the reasons I was shocked to hear that the Hale pack had returned to Beacon Hills; after everything that has happened I figured here would be the last place you would want to set up. But then and again, you Hales are strong and stubborn. It take a lot to completely run you off from your land."

Derek smiled and chuckled.

"As much as I wanted to leave, I couldn't. This is undoubtedly home, my family's here, and I found my mate here. Hale land is where I belong, where my pack belongs and where my children will belong." Derek said proudly.

It was moments like these that I loved about this new Derek. The Derek I knew before was so focused on the past and past mistakes that it seemed like he could never move forward no matter what. And now, Derek's made peace with his past; he's made peace with his past so that we can have a future. I looked away from Derek and found myself looking at Markus again. There was something about him that was pulling me in his direction. I excused myself and went to talk to him.

"You felt that?" he asked as soon as I approached him.

"Yeah, what was that? I felt like I needed to come and speak with you." I responded.

Markus looked at me for a moment then smiled.

"It was your spark; I used it to call you towards me. I wasn't for sure it would work considering how young you are but it did. Despite your age your spark is a strong as someone twice your age." Markus said sounding very impressed.

"I know that you wanted to meet the Moss pack emissary to help you train, but I can tell you now, you don't need any more training. Now you have to figure out how to use your spark, and that is something that can't be taught." Markus explained.

"Why can't it be taught?" I ask confused.

"Using a spark is different for everyone that has one and you have to figure out what it is. Think of it like a trigger for example, something that will ignite the spark in you and allow your powers to come to flourish. Figure out what it is that is most important to you Stiles. Once you do that, you can control your spark easily." And with that he walked away.

I headed back towards Derek, Allen and Elise confused and shaking my head trying to figure out what Markus meant. I sat down by Derek and he asked if I was alright.

"Yeah, just trying to figure out what he meant." I replied.

"Markus is a very powerful emissary and has great control over his spark. I promise you Stiles whatever he told you was the truth. Now it's just up to you to figure it out." Elise said politely.

I nodded my head and we went to join the rest of the pack by the fire pit.

The next couple of days were mainly spent forming bonds and friendships among the packs. It seemed that my dad, Allen, and Chris were all interested firearms and spent a lot of the time talking about Chris' new store. Allen was shocked about Allison and Chris being a part of the pack considering they're Argents; but Derek just said that we can't fault them for what Kate did.

All in all it was a good visit; Allen invited Derek and I to visit them and we said that we would figure out a date that would work and get back to them.

It was Wednesday night after they left that we were all sitting in the living room watching a movie, when the wolves all sat up. I asked what was going on and Derek told me that a car was pulling up to the house; Jackson confirmed that it was Lydia's car. We all rushed outside to see Lydia pull up and jump out the car crying. Aiden jumped out of the passenger's side and they both rushed to the backdoors. I suddenly had a very bad feeling. I looked to Melissa and asked her to get her medical bag out of her car and she rushed to do so. I looked back to the car to see a sobbing Ethan holding a bloody unconscious Danny in his arms. He looked up at Derek and me and begged.

"Help me, please."

**A/N: Don't panic Danny isn't going to die.**


	13. Manipulation and Pledging

Derek and Peter rushed to help Ethan bring Danny into the house with Aiden and Lydia trailing behind them. At the same time my dad and I ran into the dining room to clear off the table so that Melissa would have somewhere to work. I didn't know what happened to Danny, but I hoped to God that he could survive it. Ethan was still an alpha and if Danny died there would nothing anyone could say or do to prevent him from killing Scott as well; an alpha's mate is not someone that you mess with.

Derek and Peter laid Danny down on the table as gently as they could and Peter proceeded to rip off Danny's shirt so that Melissa could get to the wound.

"What happened?" Melissa asked as she came into the room ; she began taking things out of her medical bag to prepare for what was to come.

"Scott happened." Ethan replied. He was standing next to Danny, bent at the waist holding Danny's hand in a death grip, quietly sobbing. After everything that happened with the alpha pack and everything that he did to us, I couldn't help but feel for him.

At one point Ethan told Scott and I about the pack they were with before Deucalion. He told us that the alpha was ruthless and vicious and they were the omegas of the pack. Given what I know about pack dynamics now, I can see why Deucalion's offer seemed great. They would have the chance to get away from their abusive alpha and become alpha's themselves; the next few years spent with Deucalion were just the usual power trip and bloodlust that most new werewolves have when they're turned. The only difference is that in normal packs there is an alpha there to calm you and teach you how to remain in touch with your human side. Deucalion, on the other hand, fed off of it; he took advantage of new wolves and manipulated them into doing his bidding all for the sake of power. And, unfortunately, from the looks of it Scott is trying to follow along in his footsteps.

"What did Scott do?" Derek asked as calmly as he could. I could tell from the way he was standing that he was angry that Danny got hurt, but he knew that yelling at an alpha with an injured mate would only make things worse. But all Ethan did was continue to cry and repeatedly, yet quietly, apologized to Danny. Finally Aiden spoke up.

"Scott has been trying to get Danny and I to get the bite." Lydia spoke up quietly. This was not the Lydia I knew. The Lydia I knew was fearless and confident, but the woman before me looked terrified and subdued. _What the hell has Scott been doing?_

"Apparently, Deaton informed Scott that the blood of an alpha could trigger the change in someone or make it to where getting the bite would be the only option for them." Aiden said.

"The only option besides what?" I asked timidly. I feared I knew what the answer was going to be, but I hoped that I was wrong.

"Death." Peter said; everyone turned and looked towards him. Derek gave him a nod for him to explain.

"The blood of an alpha can cause the change if someone is given a large amount at once, but if they're given a small amount over a length a time then the alpha's blood will slowly eat away at their healthy blood cells. Getting the bite would be the only way to save them from a sure death."

At that point Ethan spoke up; the malice and hate in voice was clear.

"He slipped up tonight. Scott kept insisting that we have pack meetings at night. He said we could just have dinner at his place, but every time we got there he had already had dinner order; pizza, Chinese, Thai, whatever. Danny asked him why tonight and he wouldn't say so we kept asking him until he finally broke. Danny jumped up and said that he didn't want the bite; that's he'd never want the bite especially not from Scott." Ethan sobbed out the last part and put his head back down; Aiden took over from where left off.

"Scott got pissed and told Danny that he was a pack member and he would do what he said, so Danny tried to leave. I guess Scott figured that he'd come here so he wolfed out and tried to stop him. Ethan knocked him away and Lydia and I got him to the car. He took off into the woods when he saw us pulling away."

"He probably ran off to tell _Deaton _that his plan didn't work." Lydia said, venom clear in her voice as she said Deaton's name.

I looked down at Danny; his face was bruised and he had claw marks on his arm and stomach. They didn't seem very deep so, Melissa just cleaned and bandaged them. I knew of a spell I could do from one of Talia's books that would heal him, but we had to wait until he woke up.

"I may can heal his wounds, but we have to wait until he wakes up." Lydia, Aiden and Ethan's eyes were on me; mainly in shock that I could do something like that, but Ethan also looked grateful.

"Why do you need to wait until he wakes up?" Lydia asked; Derek answered for me.

"The spell only works on humans; between Scott's blood in his system and the claw marks, he might change. We can only know for sure when regains consciousness."

Aiden, Lydia, and Ethan took this information in and then looked to each other. Lydia nodded to Aiden who then nodded to Ethan, who gave a nod back to the both of them. Aiden and Ethan stood forward and stepped to Derek. I felt Boyd, Erica, Isaac, and Jackson tense, unsure if they were going to attack Derek or not. Surprising all of us they both feel to their knees.

"Please let us in your pack Derek." Aiden practically begged, while Ethan nodded beside him.

"Scott can't be trusted and we don't want to be omegas. We want to stay here with our mates; please Derek. We'll give up our alpha powers just please let us stay."

Derek looked shocked for a minute, as did the rest of us. Never in a million years did anyone expect them to want to join our pack, but they knew their mates wouldn't be safe otherwise. If they're omegas then they would be constantly on the run from random hunters and have no real home; and staying with Scott meant that Lydia and Danny were susceptible to another attack like this one. In that moment, I didn't see the ruthless killers that I had known Ethan and Aiden to be; all I saw were two young wolves wanting desperately to protect their mates.

Derek looked to me gauging my reaction to them joining the pack. I looked back to the pack not surprised to see tears in Erica, Cora and Alison eyes. Chris and my dad looked as though they wanted to hunt Scott down themselves, as did Isaac, Boyd, and Jackson. Looking back towards Derek I nodded my head and returned it to me before turning back to Ethan and Aiden.

"You and your mates are welcome to join but not as alphas. I won't make you pack omegas, but understand that you will need to work to earn the complete trust of this pack. All of you will." Derek said looking up to make eye contact with Lydia who nodded that she understood. Aiden and Ethan nodded in agreement before they stood. Each of them put a hand on Derek's arms and let the alpha power drain into him; we all watched as their eyes turned from red to yellow. Once the power exchange was over they both stood back with bowed heads and at the same time said, "Alpha." Both acknowledging Derek's higher ranking and their new alpha.

"Well, thank goodness we had the bright idea to have multiple rooms made ready and available." Peter commented, trying to lighten the mood a bit. It worked and we all shared a small laugh until we all heard something that made us stop. It was a small cough; Danny was waking up.

**A/N: I was going to stop here, but I decided to be nice…lol**

"Danny!" Ethan yelled and ran over to help him sit up. Melissa and Peter went over as well; before Melissa could check his wounds Peter wanted to see if in fact Danny did change or if he was in the process of doing so. Peter looked Danny over and then stepped back.

"He's ok, still human. My guess, a few more times getting blood from Scott and he wouldn't have had a choice." He said, the last part was bitter and angry. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Melissa checked Danny over again and then gave me the nod to get the book. Meanwhile, I could hear Ethan explained to Danny what was going on.

"Danny, Stiles has a spell that he can do that will heal you, ok?" Ethan asked Danny. I assume that Danny nodded his agreement because Ethan went on speaking.

"We're not in Scott's pack anymore. Derek and Stiles agreed that we could join them. I'm sorry that I didn't realize what Scott was doing sooner. I'm sorry that I let you get hurt."

"It's not your fault. We all thought that he would do what was right for us and not just him." Danny said quietly; his voice was very weak.

I came back in the room and walked over to Danny carrying the book. I noticed that Ethan was holding his hand and draining the pain from him.

"Ethan, in order for this to work you're going to have to stop draining his pain. It'll interfere with the magic." I told him quietly. I could tell that he wasn't happy about it but knew it was for the best.

Ethan stepped away from Danny and let me work. I drew different protection and healing runes on Danny's face and chest making sure to cover the areas where he was hurt. I opened the book to the passage I needed and began to recite the spell from the book. There was a bright orange/yellow light that surrounded Danny and I for a couple minutes after I finished the spell then it disappeared. The bruises on Danny's face were gone as were the claw marks on his arm and chest. Ethan ran over to embrace Danny and I went to stand with Derek. I could feel how proud and impressed he was with me through the bond.

Danny sat up and looked towards me and Derek before he started speaking.

"Thank you for healing me and letting us join your pack, but what are we going to do about Scott. He's not going to like this anymore than he did when Stiles choose you over him." He said to Derek.

Derek looked around the room before speaking.

"As of right now, there's nothing we can do until we can figure out why he's acting like this. I'm going to figure out what Deaton's role in all this is and make some calls to a few friends from other packs. Until we figure out what to do though, all of you need to stay away from Scott. This attack tonight proves that he's getting dangerous and is losing touch with reality. If you're out in public and you see him turn in the other direction and from now on no one goes anywhere alone. For now, it's late and everyone has had a rough day." He looked towards Lydia, Ethan, Aiden and Danny before speaking again.

"Someone will show you to your rooms, they're pretty much plain right now but if you should so choose you can decorate them anyway you want. Tomorrow we start back training; I need all of you to be prepared should Scott attack again."

With that everyone started to head to their rooms. Melissa and I stayed in the dining room to clean up, but I noticed Lydia pulling Jackson and Cora off to the side. After a few brief words, Lydia hugged both of them before heading with Aiden to their new bedroom. I guess she wanted to go ahead and start making amends to the pack and I was shocked and pleased that she started with them.

Later on that night as I was lying in bed with Derek I thought about the entire situation. Something about Deaton's role in all of this seemed weird to me. As their emissary he should want to protect the entire pack, not just Scott. I think Derek is definitely right about checking with Deaton, something isn't right at all.


	14. Training and Deaton

Just as Derek said the next morning, after breakfast, he and Peter led the wolves in a training session in the reserve behind the house. What I thought would be a long and difficult process of getting everyone in tuned with their fighting styles turned out to be quick and easy. It seems that Deucalion taught Ethan and Aiden to fight in such a way that they really didn't have any weak points to exploit. They were even able to still be able to join together to form their larger wolf form; it seems that it was more of a twin thing than an alpha thing.

Even more so, during their time with the alpha pack, one of their jobs was to watch Derek and the pack train so that they could learn their weak points and use it against us. While this news was definitely upsetting at first, it turned out to be a great benefit; now with Ethan and Aiden's agility and speed, mostly all of our weak spots were covered. If anyone should try and attack us the wolves would be more than ready.

As for the human members of our pack, Allison and Chris were teaching Lydia and Danny some weapons training and even some hand-to-hand combat. Which it turns out, Danny is very good at; it seems that when Danny came out to his parents his dad, knowing how closed minded some people can be about him being gay, signed him for boxing and kick-boxing lessons so that, if need be, he could protect himself better in a fight. This along with lacrosse training has made Danny a force to be reckoned with.

Allison has Lydia working on some smaller combat training with knives that she can easily hide, but I've been researching banshees and their abilities. As it turns out, banshees are able to use their screams as a weapon against an attack. According to one of Talia's books, banshees can release a scream so powerful it could bring a fully-shifted alpha to their knees. What's even more impressive is that the book states the scream wouldn't harm the banshee's pack members. Now all we have to figure out is how to get her to tap into that energy, which is something that she'll have to figure out on her own; much like with my spark.

After the pups looked as though they were getting adjusted to each other's fighting styles, Derek and I decided to go and pay Deaton a visit. We both found extremely odd that Deaton would allow Scott to pretty much poison Danny and Lydia to get them to accept the bite; especially considering how hard it was for Scott to accept what he is. Why would he force that on someone else?

When we got to Deaton's he didn't look that pleased to us; well mainly me, but I guess that was because of what I told him the last time I was here. I honestly expected him to refuse to see us or at the very least tell us he wouldn't speak to us without Scott or Chris present. However, he just calmly told us to follow him back into the back office so that we could have some privacy.

"So, Derek, Stiles. What can I help you with today?" Deaton asked after we had all gotten settled down in his office.

"Ethan, Aiden, Lydia showed up to the house with a battered and bruised Danny." Derek said plainly. That's one thing about Derek when he's upset; he's very blunt and straight to the point.

Deaton looked surprised, but I don't know if it was because Danny was attacked or because they ran to Derek and I in search of help and not him.

"Really? What happened to him? Is he ok?" Deaton asked.

"He's alive." I said. "Despite being force feed blood from an alpha wolf for God knows how long and then attacked by said wolf. He's alive, scared and confused as to why this happened. And frankly, Derek and I are the same way."

Deaton honestly looked confused as he stared at Derek and I.

"Look, I don't know anything about Danny getting attacked, and I definitely didn't advise Scott to feed him his blood."

"Then why did Scott tell them that he got the idea from you. Aiden and Lydia said according to Scott, you told him that feeding them his blood would make them have to get the change. According to Scott, this whole thing was your idea and it almost cost Danny his life in the process." Derek growled at Deaton. I looked over and Derek's eyes were alpha red and his claws were ripping the fabric on the chair he was in. Deaton obviously noticed as well; he went from looking nervous to downright terrified.

"Ok, Scott did come to me and ask me about that, but I told him that it was stupid and dangerous to do something like that. I told him that wasn't something a good alpha would do and he dropped it! I swear I didn't know that he was going to go through with it." Deaton was practically begging us to believe him at this point. I looked over at Derek and he nodded to me, letting me know that Deaton was in fact telling the truth. Which led us to a bigger problem and question.

"Why the hell would Scott continue to do it then? I mean, he knew that he was endangering their lives; how could he be ok with that?" I asked, mainly to myself but to Derek and Deaton as well.

"Tell us more about this so called, "true alpha" Deaton, because as far as I know that is nothing more than a myth; a legend told to young wolves in order to teach them honor."

Deaton looking pleased that we believed him started explaining to us the meaning of a "true alpha". Supposedly, a "true alpha", is a werewolf that is a beta but has the mindset and heart of an alpha. He is someone who's supposed to see the good in people and instinctively know how to make the best decisions for his pack. Thinking back on everything that had happened since Derek and Cora left, Deaton's description didn't match up with what Scott did.

"Deaton, if that's the case, then Scott can't be a "true alpha", every time we had an issue or a problem he came to you for help. Shouldn't he have been able to make those decisions himself? And if you didn't tell him about feeding blood to Danny and Lydia, then where did he get the idea from?" I inquired.

Deaton looked shocked for a minute, like he couldn't believe that he had missed all the signs that Scott wasn't a "true alpha".

"I don't know." He finally admitted. "I have no idea where he got that from, I didn't even ask."

I kept replaying everything that had happened the past year, trying to figure out what was going on, when it finally hit me.

"Wait, didn't you say that if Scott, Allison, and I performed the ritual to find our parents that we would allow darkness into our hearts?" I asked Deaton, who nodded his head. Derek looked over at me seeing where I was going with this.

"It was after you found your parents that Scott and I went after the Darach, when he became an alpha. He never showed any signs of any alpha characteristics but the suddenly he's turned into an alpha after performing a dangerous ritual." Derek was starting to put together the same thing I was, and from the looks of it, so was Deaton.

I finally spoke up. "Whatever was awoken after the ritual has gone after Scott and it's causing him to be reckless with his and other people's lives. We need to figure out what it is and how we can get rid of it before someone is killed."

Derek and I soon after that left Deaton's to go back to the house. Derek informed everyone what was going on while I went into the library to do what I do best: research. Deaton was checking his books on what it could be and I was hoping that Talia's books had something in them. Lydia and Peter soon joined me in the library while everyone else went back outside to train some more. There was one thing that was on everyone's mind though; where is Scott?


End file.
